The Portkey
by Laverna Sage
Summary: Hermione finds herself in an unknown place after touching a book. And who else to help her but ... Draco? Could she find her way back to Hogwarts? Would the two of them be able to handle the emotions taking over them? dracohermione. SPOILERS!
1. The Book

**The Portkey**

**By: Laverna Sage**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter I: The Book **

The wind carried the sound of the twitter of birds as the rays of the sun struggled through the veils of the dark clouds that silhouetted the cragged peaks of the mountain. A figure in black robes glided through the beautifully decorated hallway. It was Christmas break and Hermione was walking down the empty halls of Hogwarts towards the library. Most of the students are off for the holiday and the trio, along with a number of their friends and some other students who decided to stay for the holidays, had the castle to themselves.

She wasn't going to the library just for studying, though it is part of the reason. She was going there to cool off. God knew she needed the peace and solitude of the place. She and Ron had another one of their spats and at the moment anything vaguely resembling the cad would be blasted to oblivion. And thus, the sanctuary of the library: not only would she be too noble to mar any of her beloved books, there was also the fact that there was slim-to-nothing chance that anything there that would be able to remind her of him.

She sighed as she finally reached her destination. The place had never failed to humble her. The bulk of knowledge she could and would be able to gain, knowing that it had taken hundreds, even thousands of years for them to be amassed, and that she, bookworm that she was, wouldn't be able to fully encompass it all. Ah, the wonder of it! And of course, there was nothing like a bit of reading to take your mind off of things.

After allowing Madam Pince a small polite nod, Hermione headed for the Restricted Section (as she was allowed in this story. Don't argue!). She was surrounded by her beloved once again. Lovely.

She started to grab for the first one that caught her interest when she saw the ring on her finger. She was wearing the object that would most remind her of Ron after all.

The ring was gorgeous. Sure it was a bit big for her. She hadn't gotten around to fixing it for she was in fear of damaging it. Better leave it to an expert. But the jewels adorning it were obviously real, and along with the craftsmanship, the ring was obviously expensive. And no one, not even one of her best friends had the right to comment that she liked Krum because he was rich and famous and could give her anything she fancied. How dare he!

"I'll make him pay," she muttered savagely. Grabbing the book, she sat where she was between the shelves of books to soothe herself with reading. She sometimes did that, when she wanted to hide from the world. Barely starting, a glimmer caught the corner of her eye. She lifted her head and saw it: a fairly typical book–green and leather-bound–except for the fact that strange silver writing was glowing on it. It was definitely worth a poke. Not only was her innate curiosity urging her on but it was as if the book was calling to her. She reached for it.

"What the…"

* * *

Hermione's quick reflexes saved her from having her face make intimate contact with the floor. She grunted as her arms took most of her weight. Her sporadic clumsiness helped her bump her head as she was raising it and a couple of books fell and inch from her head. 

She stood up, still feeling a little dizzy and turned to look if Madam Pince was coming towards her because of the noise she made, but there was no librarian in sight. Come to think of it, there was no library in sight! Where was she? She turned towards a not-so familiar window and what was supposed to be a snow-covered Quidditch field was a very stunning and enchanting garden full of statues, fountains and flowers of every kind, shape and color she'd ever seen, without even a flake of snow.

Perhaps it was charmed, she considered, though the strangeness of the… dryness of the place was the least of her worries. 'This definitely isn't Hogwarts,' she thought as she continued to stare. She was mesmerized, you could say. But then, realizing where she was, or where she was not, she started to panic. Trying to calm down, she scanned the room, which was relatively large for a study. There was a desk and a chair at the center of the room, a couple of sofas, a bookshelf against one wall and a display cabinet on the other.

Hermione walked over to the cabinet and looked through its clear glass, and immediately took a step back as she saw an eyeball staring at her. Swallowing the lump that was her heart that had somehow lodged itself in her throat, she scolded herself for being startled by… eyeballs. Well, she still was a girl, after all. But then, she'd handled worse stuff in her Potions class. She studied the other contents. Several were quite familiar. There were Boomslang skins and Vampire fangs; yet, there were some that she had only read in books.

"Troll eyes… Troll liver… Troll brains?" she enumerated disbelievingly. Must be the troll section.

Then she noticed something move a little way to her right, two rows higher from the troll organs. She took a stride toward it and examined the contents of a jar. It moved again. It was a heart! And it was still beating. It was labeled as 'Black Dragon's Heart in Black Dragon's Blood.' This gooey semi-transparent purple stuff is Black Dragon's Blood? Hermione had read about Black Dragons once and knew enough to be certain that slaying such creatures is punishable by law. 'I wonder how long it has stayed like this and how long it's going to,' she thought curiously. She watched as the heart rhythmically beat. She pitied it.

At that time, she recalled the lesson Hagrid gave them about Black Dragons:

"_They're really big an' look extremely scary but in truth, they're gentle creatures by nature," Hagrid said._

"_That's what he always says," Ron whispered to the three of them._

"_But it's true, Ron," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "But bec…"_

"_Bu' because of their magical properties," Hagrid continued, "bein' a powerful panacea for various illnesses an' havin' other undiscovered uses an' all, they've been hunted down almost ter extinction. Good thin' the Ministry of Magic created a law against dragon poachin'. Bu' still, nowadays, on'y a small number still exist. These few can be found in secluded, mountainous areas, which have been charmed ter keep 'em from muggle eyes an' are very hard to spot. Even witches an' wizards have trouble findin' 'em," Hagrid added knowingly._

_Then he showed them a real Black Dragon Egg, which he had carefully taken care of for safekeeping, by the request of Professor Dumbledore. It was its last day at Hogwarts and the lesson that day was in its honor: "the only Black Dragon Egg to be born in the care of humans." The Ministry of Magic approved Dumbledore's suggestion of sending it to Charlie to be taken care of until it is ready to find its home with the other Black Dragons, and hopefully with its mother. Hagrid even invited the three of them to meet Charlie when he came to fetch the egg._

_That afternoon, Charlie, to Ron's annoyance, expanded their knowledge of Black Dragons a bit more by giving them a little lecture: "They're extremely powerful creatures. It would take a great number of powerful wizards to bring down a strong adult one. But they are awfully reluctant to fight back when being attacked, which makes most of their magic quite unknown. I reckon we know only less than a quarter of them, to tell you the truth."_

_Then he turned to a very watery-eyed Hagrid and said, "You did a good job, Hagrid. I'll make sure this dragon will return safely to its family."_

_Hagrid_ _replied by blowing his nose on a gigantic handkerchief._

Hermione snapped back from her train of thoughts when she heard footsteps from the corridor outside the room. The footsteps gradually got stronger. Who could they be? Hermione didn't really want to find out as she hurriedly looked for a place to hide. In her panic, she accidentally tripped over the books that fell a while ago.

"Did you hear something?" a cold voice asked.

"Nnno sssir," a tiny squeaky voice answered.

'Poor thing,' Hermione thought, 'they must be oppressing her' (assuming it's a female basing on Winky's high tone.)

The doorknob moved. Someone was coming in. Scrambling up, Hermione quickly hid inside a utility cabinet and watched from a crack.

"Seemed to be coming from in here," the cold voice said as his head peered into the room for a look. Hermione watched as the man fully entered his whole body. She noticed that the man had neatly combed brown hair and green eyes, slightly tanned skin beneath black robes and an ugly frown which went with it. Hermione could tell, even from that distance and the size of the crack she was peeking through that the face was not familiar. He scanned the room and his eyes fell upon the fallen books. "What are those? You're doing a poor job at your housekeeping chores, you filthy elf," the man shouted at the owner of the high-pitched voice following him.

The elf was only able to answer with an inaudible stutter. Hermione was gritting her teeth and trying her best not to leave her haven and stand up for the elf. Nevertheless, feeling guilty herself for dropping the books. But then, her guilt was quickly replaced by fear as the man looked at her corner and started to come toward it. The man barely made the first step when the house-elf spoke: "I'll ccclean now, sssir, if you don't mind."

"Right. Make it snappy then. But your master will still hear of this," the man said, turning for the door.

Must mean he isn't the owner.

The man left, leaving the house-elf to pick up the books and Hermione to think about a plan to return to Hogwarts. 'The book,' the thought suddenly sprang. 'It must have something to do with me being here. But where is it?' She looked to where the house-elf was fixing up and was relieved to see her miss the green one. It was partly hidden by the shadows. The house-elf then began dusting and was about to leave when her large brown eyes fell upon the book. She walked towards it and Hermione, sensing that it was time for her to make a move, tried hastily to open the door, which haha, managed to get itself jammed. Cursing her luck, she saw the elf just as it touched the book and disappeared.

'Must have been a portkey or something,' Hermione thought already going to pieces at the thought of not being able to go back to Hogwarts. She stayed in the closet for another few minutes until her discomfort pulled her out of her trance. Why, she was a witch! She should've blasted the blasted the door out of the way. But then, would she have stopped the elf in time?

After pointing her wand and muttering a quick spell, she opened the closet door warily, went out. Determined to find a way out, she repaired her mess and stretched to relieve her body of its aches from staying cramped inside too long, and resolved to explore the place first.

* * *

Ok, so exploring the place, on foot, with an empty stomach wasn't such a good idea. The place was really large and though she was really careful, she hadn't encountered a living soul. She didn't know if she should have been relieved or frustrated. After all, with all her walking, she hadn't discovered anything useful. She could have been in the Death Eater's Quarters, for all she knew. 

She cautiously rounded another corner. Halfway down the corridor, she heard voices about to turn the bend ahead her. Upon impulse she hurriedly entered the room closest to her.

"Whew! Close call," she whispered relieved after the voices passed the room and were a good distance away. She took her time to wallow in the relief, and starting pacing and muttering to herself—"What had I gotten myself into?" "Maybe I'm just dreaming"— which is a bit too farfetched. "What am I supposed to do now?"—when she realized that somebody else was in it, staring at her. She turned to look and her brown eyes enlarged with astonishment.

"Oh my God! Please let this be a dream."

* * *


	2. Draco Malfoy

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter II: Draco Malfoy **

He was seated on his large bed watching her intently. Hermione could not be mistaken. It was the same pale face with the same annoying smirk pasted on it and the same cold, grey eyes now shining with amusement upon seeing her. Malfoy!

Well, he must say he was quite surprised with her entrance. After all, it wasn't everyday that someone came bursting into his room, all flustered as if running for her life. Yes, he was surprised, for a moment that is, before he realized that it was just his old mudblood friend. Although he knew she shouldn't be there—Imagine, a mudblood in Malfoy Manor!—that could wait. He had been bored to death. And having someone to rag was a wonderful reprieve. And that someone being his favorite mudblood was just a nice bonus.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Granger. I thought you'd never notice me," he said playfully as a cat would a mouse.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked getting more nervous by the minute.

"I do think I'm the one who's supposed to ask that question. This is _our _house, after all."

"Your house?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Large isn't it? Now, if you don't mind, would the kind little mudblood please tell me what she's doing here?" he said impishly, his smirk becoming wider.

Hermione couldn't answer. She didn't dare. Her mind was racing. What will she do? How could she have gotten into this mess?

"Since you don't seem to want to answer, maybe I should just ask my father to escort you out. He does know you're here, right? Oh no, don't tell me he doesn't know," he said in mock surprise.

What did he mean? Was he really going to tell Lucius? Who am I kidding? Of course he was going to tell. He's Draco Malfoy. Hermione thought fearfully. She tried to hide her worry by answering him back. "So what? He wouldn't dare touch me. When Harry and Ron find out I'm missing they'll go straight to Professor Dumbledore. And you know how strong he is. I wouldn't be surprised if your father's scared of him. Even Voldemort is," she said trying to convince herself as much as trying to convince Malfoy.

"Bravery," he answered with a sneer, "very becoming, Granger. No need to act, really. You don't know what Lucius will do if he finds out a mudblood in his house. He'll think of it as an insult, a disgrace to the family name. You'll be lucky if you ever see your friends again, then again I'd say it's better if you don't, because if you do, you'll find yourself to be the one hurting them. And we don't want that to happen, do we?"

He was surprised when Hermione suddenly opened the door and ran. He followed her as fast as he could. And being the Slytherin Seeker, he has great reflexes, agility and speed so it wasn't that hard to reach her just at the nick of time, before she ran into Lucius and the brown-haired man Hermione saw earlier. He pulled her through a secret doorway into what looked like a tunnel, but before she could take another step, she realized that what should have been a long walkway was a…

"Bottomless pit. Be careful," Draco announced. It was like a trap used to trick anyone who would unknowingly take another fatal step and fall, for eternity.

"But there isn't enough space for the two of us. We might fall," Hermione said anxiously.

"Quiet," Draco whispered, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to his chest to keep her from falling. "There is. Just keep close."

Hermione's heart was beating faster. She had never been this close to Malfoy before. She could even hear his heart beating. A relatively calm rhythm compared to her bounding one. And his scent! His subtle but overpowering scent. She couldn't help but think that she wanted to wallow in it forever. A couple of seconds later, the voices become clearer.

"Is everything ready as the Dark Lord ordered?"

"Almost, Lucius. Just give us a little more time. We have almost found the nests of…"

"I think they're leaving," Draco said as the voices began to fade. "Let's wait a while longer, just to make sure," he added.

Hermione was confused. The nests of what? Whatever it was she could be sure that they were up to no good, especially if Voldemort was involved. She needed to tell Dumbledore. But telling the headmaster about this is the least of her worries. She must first find a way out of the place.

Draco was just about to reach for the doorknob when the rocks beneath Hermione's feet crumbled. He reached out to grab her hand but missed by an inch. Instead, she managed to catch the edge of a protruded rock and was dangerously dangling over the endless darkness of the pit. She prayed strongly that her fate would not be the same as the ring Krum gave her, which was now falling as it would till she knows not.

"Hey, grab my hand," Draco yelled as he reached out.

"I can't," she managed, the familiar lump in her throat. So she was scared of heights. A lot of people are. But falling for eternity? The thought was a bit too much.

"Try! You can't dangle there forever."

Of course not. Dangling forever was as bad as falling forever. And so thought, she tried to reach for his hand. But the distance was too far. She couldn't even brush the tips of his fingers.

He leaned in closer. But instead of reaching for his hand, Hermione took out her wand and muttered a spell.

"Fool!" Draco hissed. "My family's not stupid enough to have a bottomless pit and let the person float his way out of it."

Of course there would be Nullification Charm on the place. Tears were running down her cheeks now, unnoticed. "My hand's numb. I don't want to fall," she pleaded.

"Reach with your wand then." And she did. It was a bit hard to keep a hold on the wand as she was hoisted up and surprisingly, it didn't seem such a hard feat for him to hoist her up. Her hand was moist and she feared it would slip. Thankfully, Draco gripped her wrist before it did.

Finally she was safe in Draco's arms. Her heart was still beating furiously.The feelings of warmth, comfort and security sliced through immense relief. And with these the fact that the one making her feel them was Draco, who had always been synonymous with 'enemy.' Upon realizing that she was clinging to him as if her sanity depended on it (which at the moment it was) she pulled away from him mentally. No use confusing things. Things were already confused as they were.

"My ring," she said as she remembered it, thankful of finding something to take her mind away from that strange feeling.

"Forget it. Let's just get out of here. They're gone, anyway," he declared, pulling her out into the corridor and letting go of her hand there.

"Thank You," she said weakly. He answered with a grunt, as if it was no big deal. He's Draco Malfoy. Of course it was a big deal! She was a muggle-born. And saving her was the last thing she thought he would do.

"Hey," Hermione called out as she started to go after Draco, who was already halfway towards his room. He didn't look at her. "Hey," she repeated.

"Don't speak too loud if you don't want your mudblood skin torn from you," Draco said in a cold voice once she finally caught up with him.

"Oh, sorry," she answered, stopping then studying her feet. Draco stopped too, and then looked at her. "Why did you save me?" she asked looking straight into his eyes. His blue-grey eyes that were so protected. People say that the eyes are the windows to our soul. But his were different. You wouldn't see anything no matter how close you were that you would think that he didn't have a soul at all. That wouldn't be surprising but somehow Hermione didn't believe it. She knew he had one, only he didn't want to show it to anyone. He had one. Why else did he save her? And she truly wanted to know why.

"I just… felt like it," he answered hesitantly. What was he supposed to say? Even he didn't know why he saved a mudblood. But one thing was sure: he didn't regret it.

"What do you mean?"

"My father would have seen you," he replied then pulled her into his room. "As he would now if you don't move you're mudblood feet." As Draco closed the door, Hermione decided not to ask any more questions even though a hundred were still buzzing in her head.

Draco sat on his bed and realized that Hermione was just standing in a corner. "Sit, Granger," he said with a gesture, more an order than an offer. When she hesitated he added, "Don't worry, I won't touch you," and placed a smirk on his lips, trying to break the awkwardness he felt.

"I didn't think that," she muttered irritably and walked toward the place he indicated.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked after lying face-up on his bed. There was no mockery in his voice, no smirk on his lips, just a plain, simple query. You could even find a hint of kindness in it, which is something, considering his supposedly lack of those kinds of emotions.

"Could you help me if I told you?" she finally replied.

"Maybe… if I could," he answered. Well, that's new, she thought.

She licked her lips and tried to think of what to say, so she told him the events in the library.

"That's what you get for spending so much time in the library," he said after she finished and laughed out loud. He knew it would have annoyed the hell out of her.

Hermione became irritated and retorted, "Well if you're not going to help me then fine. I'm going to find my way out of here even if I have to do it alone," then started to stand when Draco said in a still smiling but somewhat more serious tone, "Wait. Ok, so this book transported you here, maybe it could return you back to Hogwarts. Where is it?"

Hermione sat down again and said: "Well, one of your house-elves touched it and one moment it was there and in the next it was nowhere to be found."

"So you're stuck here, and one of our elves is probably somewhere else, presumably at Hogwarts" Draco concluded.

"Could you help me?" she pleaded.

"What will I have for it?" he said looking at her.

"What?" She asked, taken aback, though of course she knew she shouldn't have been.

"What will I have in exchange for my services?" he enunciated mockingly.

Self-centered git! "You'll have me on my way and out of your house. Not to mention out of your life until the start of next term."

"Nah, that's also what's bound to happen if my father found you here. How about…" Draco gave her an implying once-over

She turned red. "No," she said.

Draco laughed. That's when she realized he was only joking and turned even redder, if that was possible. "Slimy git," she muttered under her breath.

"What if you do my assignment for a year," he proposed.

"That's it?" she asked skeptically.

He raised one of his eyebrows. "Why? Do you want me to add something else? Well then, how about you be my servant girl for the rest of the school year."

Hermione's mouth dropped and she painfully regretted opening her big mouth.

"You better thank me, Granger," she heard Draco add. "I'm feeling generous today. In other cases I would've asked them to do those until they graduate."

"Lucky me," she murmured.

They heard footsteps passing the hallway and Hermione instinctively looked at the door fearful that someone might come in and discover her.

As if reading her mind, Draco calmly said: "Don't worry, Lucius never comes into my room, my mother only when there's something murderously important. The house-elves, they knock. And I could just tell them not to tell anyone. Not even Lucius could persuade them to tell him something I told them not to."

"You make it sound like they're more loyal to you than to your father," Hermione stated.

He spared her a glance. "Compared to my father, I'm a saint," he said with a hint of humor. "So, are you up with the deal? I could check out the passages that I know of now if it is."

"Couldn't you just sneak me out?"

"That wouldn't be possible."

"Ok then," Hermione replied, leaving the response as it was. "I'll do what you asked for," she said, not quite hiding her disgruntlement at the last part of their deal. Being a servant? That was definitely not something she was looking forward to, but what choice did she have? Malfoy was her only hope of finding a way out of this place.

"Ok, stay here," he said as he opened the door and left.

* * *

"They're all blocked," he announced. 

"By what? Maybe we could get through," Hermione said not willing to give up.

"Two of them are totally caved in," Draco declared, "trust me. The ceiling was on the verge of collapsing. And the last one is full of dwarf miners. Lucius obviously found out about the loads of minerals there, you know gold and stuff, and just thought of adding something up in the family vault. Plus, there are a bunch of orcs under his control, which I presume he bought to keep people away. I really don't think he's only after the mineral deposits there. At the way he's protecting the place, I figure he's only using those reserves as a distraction. At any rate, you can't get through. Even the workers are terrified of the place. They wouldn't hurt me, of course. Malfoy blood, you see"

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Let's think about it later. It's dinnertime," he replied, pointing at his watch.

* * *


	3. At Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter III: At Hogwarts **

"Dean, have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked anxiously.

"No, Ron."

"How about you, Seamus?"

"Nay." He answered mimicking the way the characters in Romeo and Juliet talked, Shakespeare being his most recent discovery of the muggle world. Well, trying to mimic the way they talked anyway. "Weren't… um—what was that again? Were thou not with the fair damsel a while ago? Does that sound right?" Dean and Seamus laughed.

Ron ignored them saying: "Well yeah, but after we had, um… she said she was going to the library but she was not there when Harry and I went there," he answered nervously. "We've looked everywhere. We even asked Ginny to check in the girls' bathroom, all of them, even Moaning Myrtle's. I don't know what to do. If anything happens to her it's all my fault. I…"

"Why?" Seamus quickly asked before the he started to blame himself until dinnertime. "What'd you do?"

"We kinda had an argument and…"

"You mean a fight?" Lavender piped in, coming from the girls' dormitory with Parvati.

"Not a fight," Ron shouted angrily. "Ok, ok sort of like a fight," he said, receiving the glares the girls gave him. They have been present in most of Ron and Hermione's small quarrels and knew that Hermione wouldn't leave because of just a little argument like Ron was saying. It must have been something really terrible for Hermione to run out of patience—for she had an admirable amount of it. "Well anyway," Ron continued, "she got really mad at me. I really don't know what to do. What if she went into the Forbidden Forest and got captured by the Aragogs or by You-Know-Who or by one of his Death eaters or… or…"

"Ron, get a hold of yourself." Dean shouted. "Hermione's not stupid. She has enough sense to stay away from those places."

"And she knows loads of spells that she could use to protect herself," Parvati added.

"We couldn't find her," they heard Harry announce as he came in through the portrait hole, immediately followed by Ginny. The two walked towards the small group of sixth year Gryffindors.

"We couldn't even find anyone who's seen her since lunch" the young red-haired girl said.

"Except Madam Pince," Harry corrected.

"What did she say?" Seamus asked.

"She said Hermione went in the Restricted Section about two hours ago and hasn't seen her come out since."

"Guys, I think we should talk to a teacher about this," Ron said uneasily.

* * *

Finally, someone! After wandering around the unfamiliar place she found herself in after touching a very strange book she finally found someone she could ask for directions. She approached the man who had black robes and greasy black hair. She could see that the man was reading something and from the creases on his forehead, it appeared to be important. The house-elf ignored this however and approached the man and pulling at his robes, caught his attention. The man quickly hid the piece of paper he had been so preoccupied with that he didn't notice the elf approach him. 

"What do you want… elf," he said eyeing her up and down. At this, the house-elf became nervous.

"Sssir," the house-elf stuttered.

"Professor," came Harry's voice.

"We need to talk to you about…" added Ron's.

"Well, speak up elf. I haven't got all day," Snape snapped impatiently, completely ignoring both Harry and Ron, who decided to leave the enraged teacher alone for a while. Anyway, of all the people to report to.

The house-elf's brown eyes enlarged upon recognizing who she was speaking to and her uneasiness minimally lessened. Snape oftentimes went to the Malfoy Manor for some death-eater meetings.

"Well, sssir." She took a deep breath. "Cccould you please tell me how I can get back to Malfoy Manor?"

Snape was so surprised that he didn't seem to process what he heard quick enough and just said: "What do you mean Mal…"

His sentence was cut off when another high-pitched voice came in. "Oh, Blinky. What are you doing here? The headmaster told you to get your clothes," Dobby shouted going near the two. He saw his old friend's encounter with the professor and had been at Hogwarts long enough to know who not to tangle with. "Dobby really very sorry, sir," he said addressing it to Snape, "but my friend Blinky is new here and is just recovering from her…" he paused a second looking sadly over to the female elf, "…dismissal," he quickly whispered, pretending to hope not to let her hear.

Snape seemed to have caught on to what Dobby was trying to imply and said: "Well, I always told the headmaster not to be too soft on these elves. Go on, then. I need some time alone."

"Of course, sir," Dobby said, bowing very low, his nose almost reaching the ground.

"But…" the female elf started.

"Now, now Blinky," Dobby interrupted while directing her away from Snape, "we need you to get started right away."

* * *

"Ron, I don't think we should tell a teacher yet," Harry said once they were a good distance from Snape. 

"Yeah, I think so, too," Ron agreed. "I mean Hermione wouldn't like to get in trouble, especially from Snape. Let's just try to look for her for a bit longer. Maybe she just got lost or fell asleep somewhere."

"Ok, but no news from her until tomorrow and we'll go straight to Dumbledore."

"Let's try Hagrid's cabin," Ron suggested.

"But we've already looked there. He might get suspicious if Hermione's not with us a second time in a row."

"Maybe she went there after we left. Anyway, we could just ask Hagrid not to tell anyone until we've searched the whole grounds."

"Ron, we've already searched the whole grounds."

"Well, let's try again. Maybe we just missed her or something,"

Harry sighed. "Well, ok. But the dungeons are yours."

"Ok, ok," Ron said resignedly.

* * *

"What is Dobby doing?" Blinky shouted, fortunately out of Snape's range of hearing. "Let go! Let go!" 

"Dobby is saving Blinky. Blinky doesn't want to get in trouble, right?" dobby said still pulling Blinky towards the kitchen.

"No, not Blinky. Blinky does not want to get in trouble, especially from family. Let go, Dobby. Blinky needs to go back to masters.."

Dobby finally let go. "Don't Blinky want to stay here with Dobby?" he asked, his eyes full of tears. "Dobby is really happy here but sometimes lonely. The headmaster is really a good man," he said slightly cheering up. "He would let Blinky stay."

"Being with Dobby again would be really nice but Blinky isn't free yet. Oh, Dobby, Blinky really needs to go back to masters before they find out," she said terrified of just the thought of being punished. "Blinky don't want to get them angry," she said, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Dobby finally gave in to the female elf's request and said: "Ok, Blinky. Let's talk to the Headmaster. Maybe he'll know what to do."

"Thank you, Dobby," she said gratefully.

* * *

a/n: Sorry about the house-elf talk. I don't know if I exchanged them with that character in the Lord of the Rings, Gollum. Tell me if I did. I'm gonna get back to Draco and Hermione real soon, so don't worry. Just review, Ok? 


	4. Caught

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter IV: Caught **

"What's taking him? It's been more than three hours," Hermione said impatiently walking around Draco's room to keep herself busy. She sighed and sat. Why was she worrying anyway? She didn't think he would bring her food, though God knew she was hungry enough to eat a hippogriff, figuratively speaking. Knowing him, he was probably stuffing his face with food and enjoying the point that she was suffering.

That wasn't fair, she knew. She had to give him credit in the 'being human' department. And she had to admit she had never seen Draco 'stuff his face.' That was Ron's department.

For the first time she took the time to notice the room. It was really magnificent, and well, enormous. The room was painted silver-gray, and green for the corners and angles. The lights from the torches made the somewhat dark room seem a little spooky, with the light reflecting from the mirror-like color of the walls. There were tall beautifully framed windows and a balcony, all of which were with drapes parted to showcase nighttime on Malfoy grounds. If it weren't for the torches situated on the walls, which were charmed to light automatically, she would have been in total darkness. With a wave of her wand, the lamps on the end table and bedside drawer lit up to give her a bit more light.

There was a majestic four-poster bed with its black covers and drapes which were trimmed with silver and made of a strange material that felt like silk, smooth and shiny, but was incredibly warm—a very welcome feeling in the cold season of winter. The posts and headboards were decorated with green ruby-eyed serpents twirling around them. It was a work of art, obviously antique, though of course stylish. Then there was the large ornate cabinet, of course for Draco's clothes.

The couch she was sitting on and the wing chairs, which were placed in front of the grand fireplace, were extremely cozy and well suited for comfortable reading, which she assumed, was what Draco mostly did in them seeing the shelves full of books in the bookshelf along one corner. In front of her, there was a small table. Its design was that of four snakes biting a circular piece of oak wood on which was placed what looked like a dragon's claw carrying a crystal ball, inside which was what seemed like a large yellowish pointed tooth that was suspended at the center. She was puzzled by it. It looked like it belonged to something taller than a three-story house. Then she remembered the Black Dragon's heart. She noticed a door which she supposed lead to the bathroom. How she longed a warm soak in the tub after the crazy events that happened to her that day.

A palace in its own right, she thought as her eyes scanned the room once again.

"Hey, I'm not staying long." Draco. She wished the jolt he gave her didn't show. The matter was embarrassing enough as it was. His quick and silent entry was quite unnerving. She was glad to see him though. She was starting to get really bored with looking around the room. "I just came to tell you that we're having an event downstairs so be careful."

Hermione's stomach growled.

"Don't worry. I asked a house-elf to bring something up for you to eat." He was just about to leave when he added: "Granger, be careful. Pansy's here too." An unfamiliar jolt passed through her. Curious. "You don't know how good she is at finding out about things."

Somebody knocked on the door and Draco answered it. 'Speaking of the devil,' he thought as he saw who it was.

"Draco, sweetie," Hermione heard Pansy's loud, high voice. It almost made her sound like a house-elf. "I saw this elf sneaking some food and it said it was for you so I decided to personally bring it to you. Here," she said holding up the tray of food.

"Thanks," he said as he took the tray and tried to close the door. Pansy stopped him by putting her hand to block it. Draco visibly mentally argued with himself whether to close the door on Pansy's fingers or entertain her for a while longer. He chose the latter, having in mind his father's disapproval if he learned of such trouble with his… approach with other 'pureblood families.'

"Can I come in?" she pleaded, fluttering her eyelashes.

"No."

"But why? Are you hiding something from me in there?" she asked trying to look around him, but failing with Draco blocking her from getting even a small peek of Hermione, who was now too nervous to even shift for fear that Pansy might catch her movement.

"Because it's my room and I do not wish for you to enter it," he answered full of cold venom in his voice.

"Please, oh please," she said in her irritating babyish tone.

"No!" Draco finally barked. Even Hermione jumped, literally. "Are you that daft that you can't notice that I want you to leave me alone?" He saw something flicker in the annoying girl's eyes. It probably meant trouble. And he couldn't care less. It would be wise to avoid any trouble for now though. For somebody else's sake. "Just wait downstairs, alright?" he ordered in a slightly softer tone but still as commanding, banging the door in front of her.

Hermione finally got over her shock. "Wow!" she exclaimed at his outburst a while ago. "Remind me never to get you angry again. You almost gave me a heart attack a while back there," she said lightly, trying to cool down the boy.

"You won't even dare anger me when you work for me at the start of the term. You don't want to displease your master, do you?"

Hermione scowled. "Of course I would. With an idiotic git like you for a master, who wouldn't?"

Draco didn't react the way she expected him to. He just smiled—a real genuine smile, which made Hermione blush. She had never seen him smile before. "Here," he said, giving the young girl the tray of food. "Hey, I could send Potter and Weasley a letter if you want. They must be worried about you by now."

"Sure, but I'll write the letter. I don't think they'll believe it if you're the one who wrote it."

"Good idea. They might think that I kidnapped you or something. The quills and parchments are in the top drawer over there," he pointed to the one beside the bed. "I'll send it when I come back." And with that, he left.

Hermione ate the food quickly. It was a meal that could rival Hogwarts. And that was saying something. After she finished, she decided to take the bath she had longed for first since it would probably take some time before Draco came back. He wouldn't have bothered informing her if not. Enough time to take a soak in the bathtub. Or better yet, a relaxing bubble bath.

Hermione took her clothes off and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her with the initials D. M. skillfully embroidered on it. She fixed the water making it just the right temperature, randomly selected a scent and poured it lavishly. She had manners really. But the propriety of asking slipped her mind completely. She didn't think Draco would mind anyway. It didn't look like he used them—the bubble baths and the majestic bathtub. The shower did though.

The dip felt wonderful and smelled great. She looked around the bathroom. It was absolutely elegant. What else would you expect from the Malfoys? It was orderly, too. There was a pile of neatly folded towels.

There was no window but floating scented candles of different shapes and sizes, which automatically lit up the moment she came in, amended for the darkness. The air was immediately filled with its fragrant and relaxing odors. And, Hermione noticed, they moved out of the way when you passed. There were candles shaped like flowers of different kinds, which were all placed approximately at waist-high, a sun, which was noticeably lower than the other candles, and a moon, which, on the contrary, was higher and gave a hazy white light. Different sizes and colors of stars dotted the place, their flames following the corresponding color of each—ranging from sizeable blue ones, which gave bright bluish-white light, to little reds giving faint scarlet glows. She noticed that the moon and the stars' flames provided most of the light, giving the room an eerie glow. It was somewhat relaxing, giving you the feel that you were bathing under the moonlight.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a voice ring through the room. "Where is she?" It was Lucius.

Hermione hastily got out of the tub and covered herself with a towel. The door to the bathroom suddenly burst open and Lucius, Draco and the Parkinsons entered. Narcissa was nowhere in sight. Draco had his hands behind his back and his wand was with Lucius. She could hear his faint growl.

"So here's our little mudblood," Lucius said with disgust. The word 'mudblood' hurt worse coming from Lucius than from Draco.

"You didn't think I'd miss you, did you, mudblood?" piped Pansy's high-pitched voice. "You really should know that you couldn't hide that fat body of yours, even if it is behind Draco's broad shoulders. It's too large."

Draco laughed contemptuously. "If she's fat, what does that make you? An elephant?"

She could see Pansy's shocked expression, quickly replaced by a frown, giving Hermione a moment of satisfaction. Ha, didn't expect that, did you, Parkinson?

"Shut up, boy," Lucius snarled, hitting Draco in the face. "That is, if you don't want to spend the rest of your vacation chained in the dungeons," he said in that same malicious voice, twirling Draco's wand between his fingers.

"You can't do that to your own son," Hermione cried boldly.

"Oh, I can, child. And if I can do that to my only heir, I can do it to a mudblood like you," he said laughing mercilessly.

"You cruel beast," she said between gritted teeth.

"I may be a cruel beast but you can be my beauty (cooorny! Ugh, how could I make such a line? slaps herself in the face. LOL)," Lucius said, touching Hermione's still bare shoulders. Hermione could still hear Draco's growl, evidently becoming stronger. She couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly slapped Lucius as hard as she could.

It didn't seem to have hurt him one bit, but still losing his temper at her insolence, he shouted "Crucio." It was pure pain. A second of agony felt like an eternity of torture. It was nothing like she had ever felt before. She embraced herself, trying to stop the shouts burning in her throat, and failing miserably. She could hear an assortment of different noises in the background: Lucius' loud ordering barks, the Parkinsons' malicious laughter, Pansy's annoying chatter and, to Hermione, the most distinguishable of all, Draco's shouts.

"Hermione! Stop!" There was no pleading in his voice. Anger, yes, and hatred of course. He would never plead. She wouldn't ask him to. For him it would be like giving up his pride. But for her, trying to help her was more than enough.

"Hermione! Hermione!" he shouted over and over again.

* * *

a/n: Oh, I do love Draco's growling. Oh, and sorry about that stupid line. Where's Narcissa when you need her? I wonder what happened at the party? Hmmm… well, review. 


	5. The Letter

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter V: The Letter **

"Hermione! Hermione! Hermione!" Draco shouted slightly shaking her.

Hermione woke up with a start, screaming her lungs out. She quickly sat up, forgetting her (ahem) situation.

"Hey!" Draco exclaimed, turning around and shoving a towel at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry," she panted, completely out of breath. She wrapped the towel around her, still remembering the feeling of pure pain from her dream. Was it a dream? Hermione sighed. Of course it was a dream. There was neither Lucius in sight nor any of the Parkinsons.

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"I had a nightmare." Hermione noticed that Draco looked troubled by this for a second, though it was gone in the blink of an eye. What was that about

'It was a dream, wasn't it?' she thought to herself, bothered by Draco's unsettling, though momentary, reaction.

"I think you should sit down first," Draco said, leading Hermione into the room and letting her sit on the bed.

"Do you think your parents heard me?"

"No," he answered calmly. "My room's charmed to keep sound inside. No one from outside can hear any noise made from in here. What was the dream about?" he asked trying to make the conversation as normal as possible. He went over to light the lamp on the desk beside his bed.

"It was about…" Hermione started, feeling silly to be worried about just a little dream. "It was about your father finding out about me." And with that finally said, it was as if she was feeling the pain again. She hugged herself to shake off the feeling.

Draco decided not to ask any more questions. "Don't worry about it," he said in a slightly comforting tone. "I'll find a way for you to get out of here. Potter and Weasley would kill me if they knew something happened to you in our house. And I'm looking forward to having no assignments for the rest of the year," he added in jest while fixing two cups of tea, which he brought up after the party. He gave one to Hermione, who received it with a quiet "Thanks".

"Yeah," Hermione answered lightening up. "Oh, I haven't written to Harry and Ron yet," she remembered. "Malfoy," she said amusement radiating from her voice "Haven't you seen a woman's body before?" she asked.

A hint of color stained his pale complexion. A brow was lifted. Being the Malfoy that he was, Draco easily thought of a comeback. "It was the first time I saw a mudblood's," he said with a calculated calmness, though inside really he was laughing and enjoying her embarrassed expression.

"Here," he said, handing her a quill, parchment and a long-sleeved polo shirt which was long enough to reach Hermione's thighs. She was supposed to wear that? It was the sort used inside the house. She sighed. She figured they were in some sort of truce or something because Draco was helping her, but that still didn't remove the awkwardness she felt. After all, he was still Draco—her enemy since her first year at Hogwarts. Well, she hasn't got any other choice, has she? Anyway, it's not like he'd have any perverted thoughts, especially on her. Then the thought of the scene at the bathroom slipped into her mind. And then to top it off with that careless question! She shouldn't have teased him and was now regretting the act. She couldn't help the blush creeping. Luckily, Draco wasn't there to see her. He went to the bathroom to take a shower.

She decided to take this time to put on the clothes quickly. Then started writing the letter.

When Draco returned Hermione was already on the bed. "Finished the letter?" he asked. He should have been annoyed, really. But seeing her on his often too large bed, he couldn't help but feel a strange comfort.

"Yeah," she answered drowsily. He looked at the desk and saw the neatly folded parchment with the quill on top of it.

"Hey," he suddenly said, "who told you you're sleeping on the bed? I should think you're sleeping on the couch." Hermione sat up quickly, his words pulling her back from sleeping consciousness. The fault was hers, she consented. It was his room and she had no business assuming… anything, really. She already owed him. She knew that, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She couldn't stop the pout from forming and disguised it by looking menacingly at Draco. "Jerk," she muttered and started up.

"I was just joking," he said with amusement. He'd rather die than tell anybody, but the hastily cloaked pout arrested him. "But don't expect me to sleep on the couch."

"Whatever," she answered, going back to the position she was in a while ago. She was quite flustered at seeing Draco putting on a shirt and buried her face in the covers so that he could not see her scarlet face. Moments later, she heard the door silently shut and when she looked realized that Draco had already taken the letter.

"Thank You," she quietly said to the air around her, obviously addressing it to him. After that, she finally went to sleep.

* * *

Harry woke up to the sudden tapping on his window. He groggily got out of bed and went to the windowpane to let in a very handsome eagle owl, which looked quite familiar. It dropped a letter on his bed and swooped out the room as quickly as it had come. He looked at the clock and it read five minutes past twelve. Nobody sends an owl at that late an hour, except of course it was something very important. He turned to the letter and opened it. He immediately recognized Hermione's neat handwriting and started reading the letter. 

"Ron,'' he shouted, thunderstruck, waking Seamus and Dean, too. Good thing Neville was staying with his grandmother for the holiday or he would've awakened the whole school by screaming, probably thinking that Voldemort had snuck into their room.

"What happened?" Dean asked sleepily.

"Is there a problem, Harry?" Seamus added.

"RON," Harry yelled exasperatedly, seeing Ron didn't even stir. "Wake up. It's about Hermione." That did the trick. He sat up fully awake, scrambled out of bed and went over to Harry. Seamus and Dean did the same.

"What happened? Where is she? Is she all right? Is she still angry at me? " Ron poured one question after the other. Harry rolled his eyes and just gave him the letter to read.

After he finished reading the letter out loud, Dean said: "Hey, what's this?" and picked up a piece of paper that fell when Harry opened Hermione's letter.

"Potter," he read to the others. "You better have something for me once I return your mudblood girlfriend. And don't write back. My father might get a hold of it."

"Malfoy," Ron concluded before Dean could read the signature. He had an unexplainable mixture of emotions on his face. Worry and rage were the most distinguishable of all. After that, there was a very long pause.

"What do you reckon we should do?" Harry finally asked.

"Go to Dumbledore," Ron answered automatically.

"But the Hermione asked us to make excuses for her," Dean argued. "She wouldn't want us to tell anyone yet."

"Yeah, but Hermione might be in real trouble. I mean it is Malfoy. Why would he help her? Don't you think it's suspicious? Maybe he just forced her to write the letter," Ron debated.

"I don't think so," Seamus discussed. "See the letter? If she was forced, the writing shouldn't have been so neatly written. It would have had at least the tiniest sign of a shaking hand. But it was written calmly. No quivering whatsoever."

"Seamus has a point," Harry said.

"But Hermione might be in trouble. Ok, let's just say that Malfoy is helping her out. There is still Lucius. The chances of them getting out of there is a hundred-to-one," Ron reasoned. He would not just leave Hermione to Malfoy without taking action. Just the thought of her with him made him mad.

The three pondered on what he said.

"Even though we do tell Dumbledore, I don't think he can do very much," Harry said. "I mean, it is Lucius' territory. It could even put Hermione in more danger. But I think you're right, Ron. Professor Dumbledore will know what to do. For now, let's just try to get some sleep. Let's talk to him first thing in the morning."

* * *

Hermione woke up early the next morning light-headed. Her eyes didn't seem to want to open yet. She couldn't even feel her limbs! She had the weirdest dream about getting lost in a strange house and Draco—of all people—was helping her out. 

What was happening to her? She was never like this. She tried to gather her senses. Well, at least she was warm. And what the heck was that scent? There was something just wrong with it: it was downright addictive. That was it. Nothing should be that addictive, she thought as she breathed in another lungful. Well, who cared? As long as she was comfortable… and boy was she comfortable.

Yes, all that sluggishly slipped inside her still hazy head, which, for her sake, should have stayed hazy. But as her mind managed another gallop into consciousness she realized that she was clinging onto something, and that that damned scent was familiar. Yet another gallop had her flinging her eyes open wide and praying for deliverance. Oh dear God, let it be a mistake.

But it was he. Draco. And she was clinging to him. CLINGING! Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck and she was snuggled against him. And the fact that his arm was circling her waist did nothing to relieve her. Heck, it made the situation worse. How was she supposed to escape their jumble now?

Let's try little by little, she thought as she slowly freeing herself from him, painfully fearing that he would awake. Finally, when she'd untangled herself, she sighed deeply, feeling the winter season once again. So much for the warmth.

Regret. It was foolish to feel regret… if that was what she was feeling. He probably would have had booted her out if he knew that they were… touching. Or, he might have laughed and teasingly blamed her. He could already hear him: "You couldn't keep you hands off me, eh, mudblood?" Though of course he would completely ignore the fact that his hands were on her too. Yes, she didn't know what his reaction would be. She didn't know him, she admitted. She thought she did, especially at the time when all he did when she was around was spite her. But now…

She stealthily went to the bathroom. When she entered, the first thing that caught her eye was a simple yet gorgeous robe.

"You can wear that for today." Hermione felt the heat creep up her face and neck. Did he just wake up or did he know about their situation awhile ago?

Hermione looked around and noticed that the windowless room was now brighter than last night. The sun-shaped candle was now somewhere to the northeast, exchanging places with the moon. Both it and the stars now gave a very faint glow. On the other hand, the flowers were still at their fixed places but appeared brighter and livelier.

She briefly took a shower then put on the beautiful dress. She felt awkward at the feel of it at first but the feeling eventually left. She combed her hair in front of a mirror and noticed, for the first time, that her hair had become, though still wavy, somewhat straighter and sleeker, framing her face. She dismissed her overlooking this change by 'studying too much.' When she went out, Draco was already sitting on the side of the bed, still looking a bit haggard.

He wasn't really a morning person. He needed a couple of minutes to be himself. Then he saw her and it was as if his mind did a fast-forward. She was gorgeous. He wouldn't tell her that, of course, but oh well, there was no use lying to himself. "I'm going down to get something to eat," he said.

* * *

Draco came in with the tray of food floating behind him. He placed it on the table and went to his bed. 

She heard Draco yawn and turned to see him reclining once again on his bed.

"Don't tell me you're going back to sleep," Hermione said with wonder.

"Of course I am. What else is there to do?"

"Help me find a way out of here," she suggested. "And aren't you even going to eat?"

"I'm fine. And I'll help you find a way out when you finish eating." He said assuring her.

"Oh," she said remembering the food. "Ok then. When I finish, you're going to help me."

"Certainly. Just don't forget our deal."

"You don't have to remind me every time, you know. I think of it enough times already without your help," she said a little bit annoyed. But Draco didn't hear her. He had already dozed off. Hermione rolled her eyes resignedly.

Hermione ate quickly, not finishing the food. Then she went over to Draco, placing her head above his face and shaking him gently to wake him up. At first, Draco thought it was an angel. Good thing her caught himself just in time, before he reached up and touched her face. It was bad enough that mudblood was staying with him, sleeping in the same room with him. But embarrassing himself in front of the said mudblood was a bitt too much. He didn't even know why he was helping her.

"Hey, I've finished eating," Hermione said enthusiastically. "Let's go!" That explained her zeal.

"What do you mean 'let's go'? You're staying here," Draco said callously. Ok, so her waking him up put him in a bad mood. Or more accurately, her almost making him do something foolish.

"What do you mean? Why?" Hermione exclaimed dismayed.

"My father might see you if you go out of this room."

"What was the point of waiting for me to finish eating?"

Draco fixed her with a steely glare. "Because I wanted some rest before I went out to help you find your way out of here." He knew that would make her feel guilty. That it would make her shut up, and he was using it against her.

"But what am I going to do here?" she sulked. That damned pout again. He mentally guarded himself against it before he did anything rash.

"You love reading, right." Hermione nodded. "Then read," Draco continued. The shelf's full of books. You can read whatever you like."

"But…"

"You really should learn to get along with what you have, mudblood." He shot her a warning glance. "You're not the only one who's going to get into trouble if my father found out you're here.

Hermione was taken aback. He had no right to tell her that. On second thought, he had. Hermione didn't want to admit it but he was right—she wasn't the only one in danger. The moment Draco decided to help her out he had taken a very great risk.

Hermione sighed. "Ok."

"Good. Now stay put. I really don't have to tell you twice. What trouble you are when there's no teacher around!"

Now Hermione was really furious. "I'm no teacher's pet, if that's what you mean," she managed to say calmly. "I earn every grade I receive from the professors, and you know that."

"Whatever," Draco said casually, knowing that this reply would make her angrier. And it did. After making the tray of food disappear with a flick of his wand, Draco opened the door without saying a word.

* * *


	6. The Room of Mysteries

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

Chapter VI: The Room of Mysteries 

Hermione did as she was told. The problem was what book to read. The bookshelf seemed to contain a variety of pretty interesting books—ones she didn't think could be found in Hogwart's library. 'Well, might as well start looking now,' she thought. She went over to the shelves. 

She scanned the books and her eyes fell almost instantly on one entitled "Dragons of Old" and her mind went to the fang on the table. 'Might as well start with this one,' she thought, taking the book gently in her arms. She then went over to the couch and looked for the coziest position. 

It wasn't long before she finished reading the book, but to no avail, she didn't find what she was looking for—information regarding the Black Dragons. After a couple or more tries, she gave up and tried to look for another subject to set her mind on. Then she found it. A book that looked exactly like the one she found in the library at Hogwarts, without the silver inscriptions. She reached for it, hoping that somehow it would bring her back to where she was supposed to be. Her heart was beating very fast and a second before her hand touched the book, she closed her eyes and…

Nothing. 'Of course there was nothing, you idiot,' she scolded herself. 'You saw the house-elf touch the book, remember?' Going back to the book that her hand was on, she pulled it from the shelf. "Malfoy Manor: The Founding by: Elmira Malfoy." 

"This should be interesting," was the first thing on her mind. "It would be a nice substitute to walking around with Malfoy, and it would be less dangerous."

'But isn't the danger what you were looking for when you asked Draco if you would come with him,' cried a small voice in her head.

'Of course not. Furthermore, I didn't ask him if I could come with him. I just thought that he would take me. And stop calling him Draco. It's weird hearing that name.'

Hermione thought about what she was doing. 'Sheesh. What am I doing talking to myself? At least I wasn't doing it out loud.'

Again, she returned to the book that had lain forgotten on her hand and went back to the couch. When she opened the book she found something that made her heart jump: a picture of a Black Dragon. Serendipity.

"There's something about you if I have to bet my Transfiguration grade on it," she told the crystal ball, which was in front of her. She noticed that the crystal containing the fang fogged up a bit, as if it might have been agreeing with her. Though in an instant, it was gone. She was gawking at it with astonishment.

Hermione was still staring at it when the clouds again started to appear, but this time it was more evident, and it was turning a bit red, which creepily looked somewhat like blood. No matter how surprised she was, Hermione drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione was standing in the middle of a long corridor. It was pitch-dark. The only thing that gave light to the room was the hazy light the quarter moon gave. Somehow, she knew she was still in Malfoy Manor, though she didn't recognize where she was. Just then, she heard footsteps from a bend. She wanted to hide but looking around, she didn't find a door whatsoever. She looked at the place where the person might show up and dreaded being caught. But it was only Draco—his blonde hair glowing in the moonlight and his scowl evident in the darkness.

He was coming closer. Hermione knew he would yell at her for going out of the room. She braced herself for the insults that she knew were coming her way. But he just walked by, like she wasn't even there. 

"Hey!" Hermione shouted. He didn't look her way. She ran after him and tried to grab his hand but it just passed through him.

"Am I a ghost?" she asked herself. 

Hermione was still walking, looking at her hands and wondering what was happening to her when she realized she had just passed somebody. It was Lucius. Seeing his face brought to her a sense of dread and panic and the tingling feeling she felt from her dream the other night came back to her. She also noticed that Draco had stopped and that he and Lucius were talking. She couldn't hear what they were saying but their reactions were perfectly visible to her. Both were wearing their normal expressions but Hermione could sense that things were heating up between the two.

Finally, Hermione saw Draco open his mouth in a shout and as he did so, Lucius raised his wand. Hermione could distinctly see the word his mouth was forming: Crucio.

She saw him; saw his face screw up in pain, his mouth open to let out a scream of agony and his body curl because of the aches engulfing it. Her heart ached and her breathing became harder. She gasped for breath as she watched Draco turn over in agony. She felt for him. The feeling of pain returned to her threefold but all she could think of was he. She couldn't understand it but she wanted to help him. Suddenly, everything started to blur. She closed her eyes and when she opened it she was back in the room. Draco's room.

Hermione heard a knocking on the door. Her heart jumped with fear but she remembered what Draco said: only house-elves entered the room. 

"Master Draco," a high-pitched voice said. "Are you in there?"

Hermione didn't answer. 

"Oh my," the house-elf said worriedly. "I need to find Master Draco before Master Lucius does or he'll get into trouble."

Hermione jumped off the couch and opened the door. The house-elf squealed with fright. 

"Wwwho are you?" he asked looking at Hermione.

"I'm Hermione. I'm… I'm Draco's… um, friend," Hermione answered nervously. "I'm staying here for a while. You won't tell anybody, would you?"

The house-elf shook his head, his ears flapping.

"Sit down," Hermione continued, motioning to the couch.

The elf shook his head again. "Kilnly is not supposed to sit down, ma'am. No house-elf is supposed to sit down."

'And I thought Malfoy was nice to them,' Hermione thought. "Well, you could come in, right?"

He nodded and entered.

"What were you talking about Mal… Draco getting into trouble?" Hermione quickly asked. 

"They're holding a meeting downstairs, ma'am and Master Lucius wants Master Draco to join them."

"You mean a Death Eater meeting?"

The elf shook his head. "Kilnly is not supposed to talk about it, ma'am."

Hermione looked worried. The events in her dream kept flashing back to her. Though she had never been a great fan of foreseeing, she can't shake the feeling that her dream might be one. 

"I'm… I'm going out for awhile," she said, not really thinking about what she was talking about. 

"Do you need Kilnly to show you around, ma'am?" 

"No, just tell me if you found Draco," Hermione answered, somewhat like in a trance. Not listening to what the house-elf was telling her, she walked out of the room. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco saw his room. A house-elf was beside the open door. He entered and searched the room.

"Where is she? Where's Hermione?" Draco demanded. The house-elf could only stutter in reply. "Never mind. Where'd she go?"

The house-elf pointed a shaky finger to the corridor to the left. "I think she went down, sir."

Draco quickly walked to where the house-elf pointed.

"She told me to tell her if I saw you, sir," Kilnly said.

"Never mind that," Draco answered. "We need to find her. There are Death Eaters all over the place, waiting for the meeting to start. Most of them could tell a mudblood from a glance."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione went down corridor after corridor, staircase after staircase. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen Draco yet but luckily, she hadn't met somebody other than him. She was starting to regret going out of the room. She didn't know where to go and her heart was beating double-time. And even if she wanted to go back, she didn't know how to. She was completely lost. 

Her energy gradually coming to an end, she decided to rest for a while. She slumped against a wall, closing her eyes and wishing someone would help her, a house-elf, or even Draco. How she wished she could see Draco again, no matter how odd it may sound.

Deciding to continue her search, she stood up, and as she did so, she heard voices coming her way. And one of them she recognized distinctly, Lucius' voice.

She ran away from the voices but another group was in front of her. She stopped, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, hands reached for her, one covering her mouth to stifle a yell and another encircling her waist to pull her into a room.

The moment she entered, all that was in the room was a blur of color, but after a moment, all these colors formed into shapes, and these shapes into matter, and these into sceneries. She looked at the person who saved her, only to see the grey eyes she had longed to see, pain evident in them and a hint of disappointment. "How could you?" was what she felt they were trying to tell her. She could read it in his eyes.

The room kept changing its sceneries, but if Hermione took the time to notice it, she would have observed one thing in common: dragons. From one that was flying above a manor, visible when it passed the full moon to one that was distantly noticeable in the whorl of snow on a snow-covered mountain, but what she noticed was the sharp pain increasing in her head. She wanted to scream but she knew the Death Eaters were still outside. Her breathing became harder again and everything seemed to blur. Vague pictures kept entering her head.  Her knees wobbled and she had to hold on to Draco for support lest she fall, and Draco, in return, held her tightly, as if knowing what she was going through. 

"All of you go to the lounge and wait for me there," they heard Lucius tell the other Death Eaters.

The pain was overcoming her. Hermione opened her mouth in a scream, but soft lips met hers. Unnoticed, the pain somewhat started to subside but her surroundings still seemed to haze. Slowly, she started to lose consciousness and as her legs gave way, Draco's strong arms caught her.

Once he was sure Lucius had left, Draco carried Hermione to his room. He knew pulling her in that room was dangerous but it was all he could think of. He left Kilnly to look after her while he went to the lounge. No matter how he hated it, he had to go to the meeting or his father would kill him. Well, not exactly kill but it would be enough reason for him to go into his room and it would get Hermione into trouble. He still hated how the mudblood disobeyed his orders. It cost him so much trouble. He would have to face her tomorrow for the effects of the room would take a long time to ebb. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After the meeting, Draco returned to his room. As expected, Hermione was still asleep. He told Kilnly to rest then took a short shower. He didn't want to remember it but it kept coming back to his mind. They were talking about it again. Draco wished they wouldn't find it but he knew it wouldn't be long before they did. He sighed and rested his head on his pillows, and drifted off into a deep and dreamless slumber. What he didn't know was that Hermione was doing otherwise. It was as if all the dreams wanted to go into her head all at once.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	7. Truth and Consequence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

Chapter VII: Truth and Consequence 

Harry finally decided to forget about sleep. After reading the letter last night, he didn't know why he was even trying knowing that Hermione might be in danger. "Hermione," he sighed quietly.

"So you're still awake too Harry?" he heard a voice say from the darkness. It was Ron. Harry wasn't really surprised. He knew what Ron was feeling. Hermione was their best friend, after all.

"Yeah. There's no use in trying to sleep anyway. It's almost daybreak."

"What would we tell Dumbledore?" Ron asked, trying to take his mind off Hermione even just for a while.

"I don't know. But let's tell him after breakfast."

"I hope he knows what to do," Ron whispered.

"Don't worry, Ron," Harry said reassuringly. "Dumbledore'll know what to do. If anyone can help us, he can"

"Yeah, you're right. He'll know what to do… he'll help us," Ron said through a yawn, sleep evidently wanting to catch-up with him. Harry could feel his eyes starting to feel heavy too. 

"He'll know what to do," he muttered before closing his eyes, only to be awoken by Dean half-an-hour later.

"Hey, Harry. We're supposed to talk to Dumbledore about Hermione today."

Harry opened his eyes groggily. "Wha… I'll be down in a minute. You go on to breakfast without me."

"Sure. Hurry up." 

Harry could hear Seamus waking up Ron in much the same way, though he was having a harder time. "Ron, get up. It's time for breakfast. We're supposed to talk to Dumbledore…"

"Yeah, ten more minutes, Seamus."

"…about Hermione, Ron." Again, that woke up Ron in a flash. In minutes, they were in the great hall. The magnificent decorations didn't seem as lively as it usually did. The fake snow falling from the enchanted ceiling seemed to intensify their sense of dread for their friend.

The four boys conveyed the happenings of the night to Ginny, Lavender and Parvati. Ginny was very worried about this but Hermione's two roommates assured her that Malfoy would take care of her. 

"What do you mean?" an annoyed Ron asked them.

"Well, although you don't want to admit it, Ron," said Parvati, "Malfoy's really a decent gentleman. Even though most of the time he's an obnoxious egotistical git, he wouldn't really leave a damsel-in-distress alone, even though she is a muggle-born."

"Yeah," Lavender said dreamily. "I remember the time he carried me to the Hospital Wing when I twisted my ankle once… though he was really very rude afterwards calling me names and stuff," she added irritably.

The seven of them waited impatiently for breakfast to end. Finally, Dumbledore stood up and started to leave the High Table. Harry and Ron stood and when they realized none of the others were following them, they looked at the five expectantly.

"We… we think the both of you should go alone," Ginny said. "It'd be too crowded if all of us went."

"Yeah, Dumbledore'd understand better if only the two of you went," Parvati agreed.

"I… guess you're right," Harry agreed reluctantly. "We'll see you in the common room then."

"Yeah."

"Bye Ron, Harry."

"Good luck."

"We expect news, ok?"

They all made their way to their dorms and left Ron and Harry to think of what to say to the headmaster. When they finally decided to follow him they found him waiting outside the door of his office.

"Ah, finally here, I see," he said with a smile.

"What do you mean, professor, you were waiting for us?" Ron asked surprised.

"Well then, I think it's better to talk about it in my office. Candy floss," he told the gargoyle beside him, and it jumped to life then moved aside to make way for the two boys. "In you go then."

It was Ron's first time in there and as he entered the gap the gargoyle revealed, he was amazed at the sight before him. They took the spiral staircase slowly moving upward as the doors closed behind them and through the oak doors of Dumbledore's office. He saw the circular room and the pictures of the former headmasters and headmistresses. Also, there was Fawkes asleep on his golden perch.

"I'd like you to sit down then, children," Dumbledore said kindly. "Sweets?" He offered them the bowl of candy and chocolate on his table. Harry politely refused while Ron took a few, mentally restraining himself from taking the whole lot. 

"Now, I have reason to think that you came to talk to me about your friend, Miss Granger?"

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed. "How did you know why we're here?"

"Two reasons, Mister Weasley. First, I realized you weren't with her since last night and second, I received news from somebody you know and a friend of his."

"Professor," Harry said, "who told you, if I may ask?"

"They're here, actually."

"They are?" the two said in unison. Then they noticed something move on a couch on their left. It was Dobby, standing up and bowing to them.

"Dobby is very happy to sees you, sirs. This is Blinky," he indicated to an elf lying asleep on the couch."

"Is Blinky a new elf here, sir?" Harry asked.

"Actually no. She's from the Malfoy Manor," Dumbledore said evenly while receiving quizzical looks Harry and Ron.

"The Malfoys dismissed another elf, sir? I find that really very hard to believe since I've seen Lucius' anger when I tricked him into dismissing Dobby."

"That's because they didn't dismiss her, Harry. As I've found out, she's been transported here after touching a book, more likely a portkey of some sort."

"Yes, sir," Ron interrupted, "but how did you know it has something to do with Hermione?"

"If you'd allow me to continue, Mister Weasley, I was just getting to that. You see, Blinky here saw a girl hiding in her master's utility cabinet before she touched the book. And seeing you without Miss Granger for quite some time now has led me to believe that something must be amiss. Well, will you affirm my theories, gentlemen?"

"Yes sir, Hermione has gone missing and she sent us this last night," Harry said giving Dumbledore Hermione's letter. "But we didn't know what to do so we wanted to ask you for advice, sir."

Dumbledore scanned the contents of the piece of paper. "She says right here that she's quite alright. And it seems like Mister Malfoy is helping her out. Well, I really don't see any problem as of yet."

"But Hermione might be in trouble," Ron argued. "Aren't we gonna do anything?"

"For now all we can do is believe that Mister Malfoy can bring Miss Granger back safely."

"But it's Malfoy," Ron insisted. "Don't tell me you trust him. The words Malfoy and trust don't go together."

"Mister Weasley," Dumbledore said benignly, "I trust each every individual in this school and as far as I know Mister Malfoy is still a student of Hogwarts. Sometimes the only thing you can do is have faith, even in the most unanticipated places, at the most sudden times, or on the most unexpected people. Now let's agree to give them three more days to get to know each other better. Then we'll decide what to do next. We'd never know if Mister Malfoy could pull off a miracle. Now stop wasting Hogsmeade time. We have two more days before Christmas and you could have some last-minute shopping. You should try to enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you, professor," a downfallen Harry and Ron said simultaneously. 

"Just set aside your presents for Miss Granger for awhile. You could give them when she returns."

So they went back to the common room and told the waiting Gryffindors the headmaster's opinion and spent the rest of the day at Hogsmeade, unknown to them Hermione's encounter of a mysterious room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione woke up the next morning gasping, her heart beating very fast. She carefully sat up. Dreams had come to her one after another that she didn't know what was real anymore. But trying to remember those dreams was like trying to contain water in your hands—they slowly slipped no matter how hard you try to hold them 

"Finally awake, eh, mudblood?" a drawl came from beside her. Draco was resting his head on his pillow although he was fully awake.

"I… what happened?"

Draco sighed. "You disobeyed my orders, Granger, that's what," Draco answered standing up. "Did you know that my father almost killed me when I entered late in that meeting?"

The events of the former night slowly started to come back to her. "But…," Hermione said trying to cut in. She didn't know what to say. She could feel the tears starting to well-up in her eyes. 'It isn't fair,' she thought. 'Is this what I get for caring? I went out of the room because of him.'

"How could you call yourself smart?" he continued. "I told you to stay put. Can't you understand straight English? Even Pansy could follow instructions better than you."

"Then stay with your Pansy," Hermione yelled, her tears were flowing freely now. She ran to the bathroom, the only place she could think of where she could hide from him, and locked the door behind her. She couldn't stop her tears from flowing. She heard Draco banging from the outside.

"Hermione, open the door," he shouted. She didn't answer. After some time he stopped. "You could have died, you know? I was so… worried about you," she heard him whisper reluctantly from behind the door. After a few seconds, she heard the bedroom door silently close. She turned the knob, and peeked outside. Draco was gone.

a/n: I really need names of house-elves. Please recommend some so I can get on with the next chapter. Please, I beg you! I even put this one in between, just to buy some time for the next chapter. So you'll notice that I didn't spend as much time on it as I should have. Just tell me if anything's wrong. I promise the next chapter will not be a boring one. Well, I'm expecting you guys to review.


	8. Christmas Eve: A Ball for Two

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

Chapter VII: Christmas Eve: A Ball for Two 

Kilnly brought Hermione's breakfast, as well as her lunch. She didn't know what she did that morning. Think about Draco, maybe. To her surprise, he showed up that afternoon for a cup of tea. They were waiting for Kilnly to bring it up. She noticed Draco. He looked exhausted, no doubt because of trying to look for a way out. Her way out. Hermione suddenly felt a tinge of guilt. She wouldn't admit that the fight that morning was her fault. However, it wasn't his either. Maybe she could have tried to understand him better. That was her mistake.

"Malfoy… I…"

"Apology accepted, Granger," Draco cut in.

'How dare him,' Hermione's mind flared. 'HOW DARE HIM.' Hermione's face distorted with rage. "You know, Malfoy," Hermione spat, "I was actually trying to apologize. It's really rude to cut in, you know?"

"Ok, Granger. I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have…"

""Apology accepted, Malfoy."

Hermione saw Draco's face distort in what must have been what hers looked like a minute ago. "What happened to 'it's really rude to cut in', huh, Granger?" Draco said.

Hermione smiled. "Just returning the favor, Malfoy."

Draco reached for a book and started to read. "Kilnly already told me the story. He even begged me to forgive you. You should thank him."

"Malfoy," Hermione said suddenly, "what was that room?"

Draco seemed surprised by her question. "Well," he said, "you must've remembered you fainted."

"Yeah. And the things before that, actually." They both blushed at this but acted as if that sentence was never said.

"That room," Draco continued, "is a room only for Malfoys. Only a person who's related to a Malfoy through blood could enter without having a fatal effect. Not even my father could stay in that room for an hour without feeling dizzy. I'm surprised you woke up today. It's really dangerous, especially for a mudblood like you. If you stayed in there for a second longer you could have died."

Hermione thought about this for a while. "But what is it for?"

"Nobody really knows. At least, nobody from the present. My ancestors knew, of course, those who built the manor though that knowledge was lost. Nobody knows when. But my father still likes to spend his time there, thinking he might discover it."

"They must have had a good reason they kept it hidden."

"Yeah, maybe."

The door opened and Kilnly entered, bringing a silver tray carrying the tea and two cups. He walked over to the table and… tripped, spilling the tea all over Hermione. She could hear Draco's rude guffaw and Kilnly's stutters of apology.

"It… it's alright, Kilnly. I'll just fix myself up," she said standing up.

"No, please ma'am. Let me call Mibby and Tibby to help you," he said pushing her back to sit on the chair. He ran outside and called the two. As if staged, they came instantly.

"Oh my, what a mess."

"Let us help you, lady." 

They pulled Hermione up and pushed her to the bathroom. Hermione could still hear Draco's laughter and was silently cursing him for it. It's a good thing the two elves closed the door of the bathroom before she could pounce on him. The house-elves then started to remove her clothes.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she started to argue but the moment she saw their eyes starting to water, she let them do what they wanted. Then they pushed her in the water. Every time she told them she was ready to leave the king-sized bathtub, they would oppose and push her back down the water.

All of a sudden, they told her she was done and they wrapped a towel around her.

"I don't have any clothes," Hermione quickly realized.

"Don't worry, lady," Mibby told her, pulling her through the door that Tibby opened.

"What… Wait! Mal… Draco…"

But Draco was not outside. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Then she saw it. Spread on the bed was a beautiful midnight blue dress and a pair of shoes to match was below it. Jewelry was on the dresser table: earrings and bracelets, and a string of pearls for her hair. She let out the breath she noticed she was holding in.

"Come on, lady," Tibby said. "There isn't much time."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked but she received no answer. The two elves were starting to wear the dress on her. "I can dress myself, thank you," she said kindly, taking the robe. The two looked downfallen but let her put it on herself, together with the other accessories.

The moment Hermione had finished dressing herself up the house-elves let her sit on a chair and started making her hair. After the hair, they decided to go for her face. Pat here… pat there. Finally, they decided to let her see herself. 

She was gorgeous. Hermione didn't know what they did but her hair was… tame. Still wavy, but tame wavy. Some strands were stylishly loose from the stunning bun they fixed and the pearls peeked out from strategic places. She wore make-up but you could barely notice it. Beauty radiated from her.

"You look magnificent, lady," Mibby said admiringly. Tibby nodded in agreement.

"What's going on here?" Hermione finally asked.

They heard a knock on the door.

"Almost done," the two said in unison. They made sure everything was perfect and opened the door. Kilnly was there, wearing a tuxedo, which looked quite strange on him.

"This way, lady," he said, offering his arm. Hermione, though bending a bit, took it. They walked and finally, Kilnly stopped.

"Master Draco is waiting for you downstairs, lady," he said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco was waiting for Hermione. He couldn't believe those house-elves could plan something like this in such a short while. But now that everything was ready, he could do nothing but oblige. 

The moment Hermione entered the bathroom Kilnly pulled him outside the door and into one of the guestrooms. There, he saw one of his black dress robes, his favorite one, so to speak. He only managed to get a glimpse at it because Kilnly told him to take a bath. He didn't argue and did as he was told. He really needed a bath at that time and could just ask them what's happening after it. After the shower, he went out and instantly, the house-elf pushed him in the robe. Seeing as he had no other clothes, he wore it. Draco smiled at how perfect their plan had been. Now that his parents were away on a business trip, there could not be that much danger. 

Finally, he heard the clicking of heels against marble. Then he saw her. He was awestruck. He watched as Hermione gracefully went down the wide marble staircase to the main hall.

She reached him and Draco managed to wake himself up. He offered her his arm and Hermione gladly took it.

"They look beautiful together," Tibby said.

"Yes they do," Mibby agreed.

They did look beautiful together. Draco's silvery-blonde hair complimented Hermione's elegantly styled brown one. Their clothes seemed to have been made especially for them. Hermione's midnight blue gown, which reflected the light dully and Draco's handsome dress robe, which went with a black cape trimmed with golden rope-like cords and held together by a silver clasp that looked like a dragon. 

"Draco… what..."

"Save the questions for later, Hermione," Draco said. "I would like to ask some myself. But for now, let's just go to the garden."

"The garden?" Hermione was excited. They were going to the place she had so wanted to explore.

Draco led her to the side of the house. Hermione could hear the melodious chirp of various kinds of birds and the mystical murmur of different enchanting creatures. Then he opened a large oak door and Hermione saw it. It was more beautiful than she thought. There were all sorts of dazzling plants and twinkles of light came from all over the place. Miniature human-like creatures jumped from one flower to the other, some playing unfamiliar sports and activities, others a simple game of tag, the only difference was that they used their wings—they flew. In an open space, some giggled and talked together in groups and some simply roamed around, taking in the marvelous view around them, smelling the fragrant aromas of the flowers, listened to the happy sounds and felt the soft grass under their feet and the calm breeze upon their faces. Other creatures of the garden played with them. Some looked like normal animals, a dog, cat, rabbit, goat, squirrel or deer, some a mixture of these, and the rest indescribably unique. Hermione was curiously excited.

But, the moment Hermione took the first step on the grass, all the creatures hid behind the trees and shrubs, though their light still shone through the leaves. Hermione didn't make anything out of this. It's natural for them to be shy or scared of newcomers. She still loved the place. Draco saw her enthusiasm.

"You must really like this place. But I must warn you: There's more to this place than meets the eye. It's pretty dangerous so you should stay close."

Hermione only smiled and nodded her head. She had always liked gardens. Add to that her eagerness for discovering. To her, this place was like paradise. 

Draco sighed, and then smiled too. "Welcome, my lady, to Ortensia, Mademoiselle Elmira's Utopia," he said, bowing and waving his hand in welcome.

"Elmira? I know that name." Hermione tried to recall where.

Draco escorted her down a stone footpath to large space and in the middle of it was a table for two. One by one, the creatures came out from their hiding places. Draco thought this strange for they never come out, especially in front of strangers. The closest he'd ever been to one of them was when a young fairy came up to him and gave him a rose. Obviously, the youth fancied him and maybe a friend dared her to come up to him. The result of this was her elders scolding her and giving Draco a dark look. The table had a centerpiece of assorted flowers in the motif of red and white and the tableware were already set. There was no need for candles for the fairies dancing around the table gave it. Trees enclosed the southern part of the space, while a tall wall covered by vines that almost seemed like the wall itself surrounded the northern part.

"Yeah, Elmira Malfoy," he said, "one of the first inhabitants of this manor. She lived here with her brother, Ciar Thaddeus Malfoy. Their father, Lord Galen, was the one who built this place but he didn't live to see it finished. Therefore, when he died, the two inherited everything he owned. They loved each other dearly so their father didn't have any trouble in distributing his possessions but they had different opinions about some things. One day, Lady Elmira just disappeared. The weird thing was that the night before she vanished, she was crying in this garden and it seemed that all the creatures here were weeping with her. Even Lord Thaddeus heard them from the room in the west wing, but nobody was allowed here without Lady Elmira's permission so he just let them be. The next day he learned that she was gone together with her most precious and beloved possessions. The rest she left in her room." 

They finally reached the table. Draco seated Hermione on one side and sat himself in front of her. 

"That's so sad. What did Lord Thaddeus do?"

"Well, he tried to look for her but all his efforts have gone to waste. Eventually he married and had an heir. But with his last breath, the only word he uttered was Lady Elmira's name. He kept blaming himself for her leaving. The story doesn't end there. Lord Thaddeus' wife, Lady Adelinde, blamed Lady Elmira for her husband's death saying that if he didn't waste all his time looking for her he would've taken care of his health more. Her son saw her sorrow and promised his mother he would take revenge. Nobody knows how but records say he did avenge her mother." Draco then looked at Hermione and saw her sadness. "Don't worry about it," he said, "that happened centuries ago."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "but still—"

"Hey," Draco cut her, "it's Christmas Eve. Let's just try to enjoy the evening, alright?"

"Christmas Eve?" Hermione asked thunderstruck.

"Yeah," Draco said smiling, "don't tell me you forgot. You can send your friends a letter later."

"But, where… where are your parents?"

"Oh, they're out on a business trip," Draco said casually. He looked over to Hermione. "Don't look at me like that. It's not really that unusual for me not to have them here for Christmas."

Hermione still looked at him in a sad way. He really hated being pitied. Hermione noticed this and tried to look as happy as possible.

Kilnly then came and brought them the trolley of food. He served the dishes one by one. After eating, they took time to rest and talk for a while. Suddenly, mysterious music came from the trees and from the look on Kilnly's face, even the planner of the dinner had nothing to do with this. Draco then noticed the fairies dancing around them and realized that it was they, who were playing their unearthly instruments for them. From time to time, a melodious voice could be heard. Being in the spirit, he stood up and reached out his hand to Hermione.

"May I have this dance?" he said. Draco smiled at the look of surprise on Hermione's face. "It would be a bad reputation to the Malfoy name if I didn't make the most of our guest's evening."

Hermione smiled, took Draco's hand, and said, "It would be my pleasure."

They danced to the slow tunes flowing in the air. The thought of dancing with Draco had never entered Hermione's mind before. But now, what were these sensations overwhelming her? She was actually having fun with him. What would her friends say, especially Ron, who is known for his short-temper? Hermione sighed. She really didn't care for now. All she cared about was that Draco was trying to make her fell at ease in a place where she never would have imaged she would be welcome. It really was a different Draco. 

After a couple of dances or more, Draco led her to the northern part of the garden and felt the vines as if looking for something.

"Draco, what—" Hermione tried to say.

"Hush. I'm trying to concentrate." 

After some time, with Hermione almost running out of patience, Draco apparently found what he was looking for. He tapped the vines three times and to her astonishment, the leaves and branches started to rearrange themselves to reveal a hidden door. Then he pushed the third brick to the right of the door and took a stone rose out of a secret compartment. Hermione watched as Draco inserted the stem of the rose in a small hole in the door, turned the rose, pushed the rose further… turn… push… turn… push until the only part you can see is the flower itself and with the final turn an unlocking sound could be heard and the door opened. They entered and the vines replaced itself, blocking their way out.

Draco took her hand and pulled her toward the statue of a beautiful woman carrying a basket of roses. Covering her simple but noble dress was a cloak with the hood down. Beneath her feet were petals of roses. Surrounding the foot of the statue are bushes of roses, then a space where only grass grew, and finally, at the outermost part, is again a circles of rosebush, the only part not completing the circle is the entrance.

"This is Lady Elmira," Draco said. "Usually, the creatures wouldn't let me near her but for some reason they don't bother us now."

Hermione laughed. "Maybe you just don't look trustworthy enough."

"Well, you couldn't really call me trustworthy. But what would I do to a statue of my ancestor's sister? They're just being overprotective, if you ask me."

"They must have really loved her."

"Yeah. I just wonder why they trust you more than me."

"Are you jealous?"

"Stop it, Granger," Draco growled. "Why would I be jealous of a mudblood?"

Hermione was taken aback and an ache of sadness overwhelmed her. Draco saw her tears threatening to come out. He wanted to apologize but his pride wouldn't let him. Then they heard the grandfather clock strike twelve. Draco took a small black box out of his pocket and smiled an indistinct apology.

"This is for you. Open it." 

"For me? But I didn't get you anything."

"Don't worry. I didn't buy it. I found it, together with the book written by Lady Elmira, the one about the founding of the Malfoy Manor."

Draco gave the box to Hermione and she opened it. Inside was a golden circular pendant. Its design was of a dragon engraved in it and its only stone was a gem the color of fire, which was the dragon's eye.

"Draco, I cannot I accept this. It could be an important family heirloom."

"Well, it's not. I found it and I could give it to anyone I like."

"Wouldn't it be better if you gave it to your wife? That way it would still stay in your family."

"Hermione, why don't you just tell me you don't like it?"

"I do, but—"

"Then keep it. I really hate being embarrassed. I don't want anyone turn down what I give."

"Well then, thank you, really. It's beautiful."

"I want you to wear it and keep it with you at all times, alright?"

"Ok."

They could still hear the music from the other side of the wall. 

"I think it's time for a last dance," Draco said, again offering his hand to Hermione. They finished the song then Draco took her hand and led her through the door after the vines opened their way for them. Draco closed the door, took the rose, and returned it to its secret compartment. The door seemed as if it has never been there. 

"Master Draco, Master Draco," a nervous high-pitched voice called out, "Master Lucius is back. He wants to see you."

"Shit! He's early. Kilnly, stall him for a while, ok? I'll just accompany Hermione to the room."

Kilnly nodded. 

a/n: What did you think? Was it an All-my-waiting-paid-off chapter or a Darn-I-waited-so-long-for-such-a-boring-piece-of-work chapter? Please tell me. For me, this is probably the best chapter of this fic. To those who liked it just consider it an advanced Christmas present. And sorry if I dug in too deep with the Malfoy history, with Elmira and Thaddeus and stuff. Draco… even fairies fancy him. Hee hee, I really think that part was cute. Thank you, _gaiamoore13_ for the house-elf names. I wouldn't have finished this chapter without them.


	9. Dreams and Dragons

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter IX: Dreams and Dragons**

Hermione was staring at the gift Draco gave her.

"I want you to wear it and keep it with you at all times, alright?"

She didn't know why but it seemed that Draco was hiding something. That this pendant was somewhat important. But why? If it was, it must be the strange way the dragon acts. After Draco left her in the room, she looked at it and noticed that, like any other works of art in the wizarding world, the little thing was moving. Apparently noticing that somebody was looking at it, it stopped moving again. 

"Hey, little guy, it's alright. You don't have to stop moving whenever I look at you. I'm your new mistress now."

The dragon, seemingly acknowledging what she said, started to move again. It flapped its wings and resumed what it was doing. Hermione noted down that the dragon actually had two eyes; therefore, the pendant actually had two stones. But why did it show only one at a time? Well, if not for the dragon, maybe its significance was in the stones themselves. From time to time, the two jewels shone brightly, as if they were on fire. Of course, Hermione was not sure if both would do that at the same time, but she assumed they would. 

Still staring at the pendant, sleep slowly came upon her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tall evergreen trees peered through the swirls of angry snow falling from the dark, grey clouds. Hermione noticed that, however hard the harsh winds kept blowing and albeit the thin polo shirt she was wearing, which she had been accustomed to wear as a nightwear, she didn't feel cold at all. 

Barefooted, she walked. Though the landscape is new to her, her feet seemed to know where they were going. After some time of unwearied walking against mounds of snow, she heard the faint call of a young child. Following the voice, she came upon a young boy, the age of five, sitting underneath a small tree, his slender arms wrapped around his legs, his pale face turning blue from the cold and his blond hair gracefully going with the wind. Bruises peeked from his torn winter clothing and a broken broomstick was beside him.

"Hello! Is anybody there? Please help me!" the boy called out again, his voice shaking from the extreme cold he was feeling. Hermione walked near him.

"It's alright, I'm here," Hermione said, her arms reaching out to the boy to give him warm hug. But her arms just passed through him.

"What's happening? Is this another dream?" 

She stayed with him for about half an hour more, hoping to share even just a bit of heat for him, her heart aching for not being able to help such a poor child. By now, his yells had become but weak murmurs. Hermione admired how brave the child was as he had not cried the whole time. 

Suddenly, a large shadow came over them, the large creature creating a strong vortex of wind around them from the beating of its wings. Hermione looked up and saw the outline of what looked like a dragon. Slowly, it landed in front of them, the large trees around them seeming like twigs near it. The child gazed tranquilly at it, unperturbed by the two horns peeking from the dragon's menacing head, its black, scaly body partly covered by its immense wings, and the great jagged spikes lining its back, from its neck to its long, whip-like tail. Hermione watched as the child's bluish-grey eyes stared calmly at the dragon's yellow ones with its black slit pupils.

"You were the one calling for help, calling for me." Hermione was startled to hear these words resound from the trees around her. It was the dragon who said it, Hermione realized. 

"Please help me!" Hermione heard the boy's words struggle through his throat. In reply, the dragon opened its large jaws, showing rows of enormous yellowish teeth and a thick, red, worm-like tongue. 

"It's going to breathe fire," she whispered, suddenly paralyzed.

Hermione felt its intake of breath. She closed her eyes and nervously awaited the dragon's scorching breath. Then, it came. And again, she didn't feel a thing, however, the pressure inside the streak of fire was enough to force a distressing cry from her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco had just come back from "welcoming back" his parents and of course, they were quite surprised when they saw that he was wearing his favorite dress robe. Or at least, his mother was. His father, on the other hand, mocked him, saying: "Who are you dressing up for, son, the house-elves?" His mother just looked at him sadly, her eyes telling him to ignore the comment. If it wasn't for her, the comebacks longing to leave his mouth would have come out a long time ago. He could take any punishment the man would give him, but he knew his mother couldn't. Her love for him as deep as any mother's for her child, she would try to protect him. And then his anger would turn to her.

Draco was seated comfortably on his couch, reading a book, as his pastime at home always was when he heard Hermione's startling scream. He went over to her as fast as he could.

Hermione opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Draco's face. 'Just a dream,' she kept repeating to herself, 'just another dream.' 

"What happened?" Draco's words sliced through her thoughts.

"Nothing. I just had another dream," she answered, trying to be as calm as she could.

Again, a worried look came over Draco's face, and again, it left it in the blink of an eye.

"What's the matter?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's the matter," Draco answered as innocent-seeming as he could.

"Draco, this is the second time I told you I had a dream, the second time that worried expression passed your face and the second time you tried to hide it. Now, don't you dare tell me nothing's the matter 'coz that innocent look doesn't suite your face." Hermione said all this very fast and commanding that Draco stared at her and found it quite hard to talk, add to that the thoughts in his head battling over whether he should tell her or not.

Draco sighed. "Why'd you have to be a Know-it-all?"

"I'd take that as a compliment," Hermione said with a placid expression on her face, though a hint of irritation could be traced.

"Dreams are forbidden in this house," Draco said quickly. Hermione just looked at him inquiringly, waiting for him to continue… waiting 

"Why?" she finally said, annoyed that she had to ask before he would talk.

"My ancestors think dreams are signs of weakness. One reason is that they are used for fantasizing, which they think is a major flaw of humans. They could also be used as a downfall. Dreams could be used as tracers, so the location of the manor could be at stake. Also, the dream world isn't really their favorite place to die. And though only a few selected people have the ability to walk between these two worlds, they wouldn't take any chances."

"Dream walkers," Hermione whispered to herself. Her knowledge of them is minimal. What she did know was that this is what people who could travel between the real world and the world of fantasies are called. They also have the power to seal away the minds of people inside the dream world. This ability is very rare and though there is a ban in mind-sealing, it is extremely hard to locate a person who had done so. "If dreams are forbidden, why do I have them?"

"I really don't know. The first time you told me, the magic being old, I thought there was just some sort of hole in it. Spells grow stronger with time but ever so often a part of it temporarily weakens and creates a hole, although it only lasts for an hour, at most, and in spans of centuries. But now that you've had two dreams…"

"Actually…" Hermione said hesitantly, "I had four, more than even, if you'd count the one before I left the room and the ones I had when you brought me back."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Draco barked, punching the wall in frustration. Hermione, sitting on the bed that was adjacent to this wall, jumped. Draco's really scary when he's angry.

Draco realized what he just did. "I'm sorry, you didn't know. It wasn't your fault."

"It's alright," Hermione answered meekly. "Anyway," she added, trying to lighten up both of them, "not all of the dreams are bad."

"Your recent one?"

"Oh, it was about a boy. I think he got lost in the mountain. I kind of heard him crying for help and tried to keep him company. But then, an enormous dragon came and…" Hermione looked at Draco, and realized, "actually, he looked a lot like you."

"I think because it was me."

Hermione looked at him quizzically. "You think…"

Draco didn't allow her to finish. "I really loved flying since I was a child. When I was five, my parents bought me a new broom. I was so excited I wanted to try it out at once. I loved the feel of the wind in my hair, the speed, the power it seemed to give me. I flew to Mount Aurus, the mountain south of this manor. I was there almost the whole day, trying out new moves, oblivious to the cold. I was about to go home when a huge snowstorm came and blew me off the broom. All I got were a few bruises but my broom broke. I didn't know where I was so I couldn't walk home. I waited under the tree for some time when Alden came."

"Wait, Malfoy. What I saw was a dragon. Who's this Alden guy?"

"Alden is the dragon."

Hermione was confused now. "What do you mean? If we're talking about the same story, why aren't you dead yet?"

"You really want me dead that much, Granger?" Draco said, trying to keep a straight face, and failing miserably.

"That's not what I meant," Hermione answered annoyed. "I saw the dragon breathe fire."

"He was a Black Dragon, Hermione."

If Hermione was confused before, now she didn't know what to think. "So?"

Much to Hermione's irritation, Draco gave her that "And I thought you were smart" look again. Only he could give her that much frustration to such a trivial reaction. She tried to calm herself once again. "A Black Dragon's breath is not for death, it's for life. Alden saved me. I was at the peak of my strength then and if it wasn't for him I would've died."

"So that's why he said that line."

It was Draco's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about?"

"He said: "You were the one calling for help, calling for me." Don't you remember?"

"He didn't say anything of the sort. He couldn't even speak."

"What? But I heard it. He didn't open his mouth but I know it was him who talked." Draco just shrugged. "Anyway, how'd you know his name was Alden?"

"I didn't. I named him."

"What happened after he…" Hermione didn't know what to call what the dragon did, "after that incident."

"He kept me company for awhile and all of a sudden he spread his wings and flew off. Minutes after, an elf came and led me home."

"You gave everyone such a hard time. Think of what your parents must have felt."

"It's not as if I was the only one who got lost in that mountain."

"Who else then?"

"You really should read Lady Elmira's book. I'm tired and if you don't mind I'd want to go to sleep."

"Oh," Hermione realized how late it was. "I'm sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

a/n: I apologize if I suck at describing things. Just tell me if you're confused with some parts or just want additional information so that it'd be easier to imagine the setting or/and scenario and I'd be happy to oblige. Oh, and if you're gonna do that, please tell me what part I should edit. Thanks. Oh, and I'd just like to ask if you guessed that Draco was the kid in the mountain. Tell me if you did. J

Sorry for the delay. I was kind of down when I found out only some people reviewed on the last chapter when I worked really hard on it. Then our tests came up so I had to concentrate on my schoolwork. Anyway, please bear with me 'coz I have to put this on hold again since I have to study. But I promise I'll make it up to you by April. Or if I find even just a little bit of time, I could get out the next chapter by March, but don't get your hopes too high.

Here are my acknowledgements from the first chapter:

Kitty D1, Choclairs, True Image, Shadowblossom, Moony31, The Sarcastic Morbid One, Remus_Lupin's_friend, overXposed, I'm S.S.M, dracosgurl_chrissy, Dark-Tail-Meimi, Noelle, qtvi3tgrl05, Dark Veritas, babmidnight, MidnightandMoonlight, un-foolished Bonnie, scooby dooby doo, lump-on-a-log, the counter, Cristina, Some12 

Just tell me if I forgot anybody. Thanks everyone for reviewing!

Badmidnight: well, not really, but you'll find out. This fic's longer than I thought, really; the counter: I really don't know what you meant but thanks anyway for reviewing; Cristina: thanks for the review. I appreciate it; Some12: I'm sorry. I really am. As I said, I had a lot of things to do; I'm S.S.M: Yeah, I was just getting to that part. But still, thanks for the idea.


	10. Stribog and Neva

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.  
  
Chapter X: Stribog and Neva  
  
A girl shall be chosen to heal the old wounds  
The pact once lost shall again be sealed  
  
A boy shall return to defend the ancient ones  
The treasure once forgotten shall again be sought  
  
  
"Alden," Draco whispered before suddenly jerking up awake.  
  
'Was it a dream?' The question kept haunting him in the shower. A pair of yellow eyes kept returning to him, along with those lines. No matter how short it had been, it was the first time he had a dream in that house. Even at Hogwarts he put a charm in his room similar, but less reliable, to that of the manor. If it was, Hermione being there must be a really bad omen. Her having dreams was bad enough, but him too?  
  
Still contemplating, a thought suddenly dawned upon him. Lady Elmira left the house through a secret passage. It said so in the book.  
  
"Among the hundreds of passages in this manor, there is one that only the house-elves and I know of. And this is where I am planning to escape a couple of days from now. To the one who will find this book, this passage is not found in the map I made, which I could guess you have already found. My dearest cousin, this book has chosen you. You and you alone are the sole heir of our proud lineage. May you put the knowledge of this book to good use. Farewell."  
  
Draco always thought that banal paragraph was the most useless part of the book, but now, it was one of the most convenient. He already planned his next step: go to the house-elves and ask if anyone knows of this passage, though he was not sure if any of them have any idea where it was.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Medes, I need to know if you know anything about the passage," Draco said to the old elf, his voice edging between demand and politeness. Medes was the oldest house-elf owned by the family, the one who took care of the young Malfoy himself, as well as the senior, and the one who found Draco in the mountain.  
  
"I am sorry, my dear young one, but even though I do know I would not tell even you," Medes answered with a grave voice. "I do know of the girl's situation but though I don't know where the doorway is I do know where it leads. Finding the passage will lead to more danger than she is already in, especially now that they're close to finding what they are looking for."  
  
"Medes, you don't understand. We have to take the risk. She shouldn't be here."  
  
"Go ahead, young master, look for it. I do not have the right to stop you. I am sorry but I really don't know where it is."  
  
Silence was around him. The audience of elves dare not speak a word knowing that he was in a very bad mood, except one.  
  
"Ummm... Master Malfoy, I think I know of a way," said a tiny squeak from the crowd.  
  
"Present yourself," Draco ordered.  
  
"Tilly, sir," a very young elf about seven, said with a very low bow, "at your service."  
  
"You know of a way out?"  
  
"Tilly not very sure, sir." Tilly said with his very high voice. You see, I was play... ahem, I mean, working in the garden one day, when my shovel hit the statue there and noticed it made an odd sound, sir. Then Tilly heard the fairies coming, sir, and frantically escaped, accidentally popping myself in a dark tunnel, which Tilly later found out to be Mistress Elmira's feet, sir."  
  
Feet? Must mean under the statue  
  
"But you do you know where the tunnel leads?"  
  
"I'm not sure, sir, but I think it leads to the outside. Tilly heard loud winds, sir," Tilly answered, nodding his head vigorously.  
  
"Lead me there."  
  
The young house-elf shook his head, his large ears almost hitting his face. "Tilly cannot, sir. 'Tis very dangerous."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"There is something there, sir. Tilly didn't see what it was but I felt it in my bones. There was something watching. Tilly don't even want to think about it if he can help it, sir."  
  
"Well, then, if you won't help me, I'll go alone." Draco turned around briskly and walked away. No elf dared move as they watched his dark robes billowing as he disappeared through the dark corridor, except one. Little Tilly who can't help but feel worried and guilty if ever anything happened to his master followed him, acting as if someone invisible were stopping him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Drowsily opening her eyes, Hermione's first perception was that Draco was not beside her. She had another dream, and she had a strong feeling that it was a continuation of her former one. She saw the boy Draco going home, his mother ecstatic about his return, his father furious. Of course, this was typical since he's their only heir. After the scene, she saw Lucius bringing out an old book and sort of performing a spell. Dreams had the odd characteristic of leaving you with peculiar ideas without knowing how you got them, and in this one, Hermione knew that the enraged father was putting up and invisible barrier over the manor for the incident never to happen again, despite his son's pleadings and promises that it will never happen again.  
  
Hunger slowly creeping up to her, she noticed a tray of food on the table. She stood up, went to it and was about to put a forkful of eggs in her mouth when the bookshelf suddenly caught her attention.  
  
"Lady Elmira's book, huh?" Hermione said putting down the spoon she noticed was peculiarly positioned in front of her face. She took her wand and muttered, "Accio." The book flew out of the shelf and came zooming into Hermione's outstretched hands.  
  
"Hmmm... let's see what we have here."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Far stretches of green dotted with bright colors here and there went as far as his eyes could reach. He had never liked the garden, much less its inhabitants, before, and especially now that danger seemed to loom over him from all direction. Tilly the elf tried to spot his master and hasten his steps to catch up with him.  
  
"Oh my, oh my, oh my," he kept mumbling over and over, along with weak moans and whimpers. "Master Draco shouldn't have gone. Tilly shouldn't have told him. Oh my, oh my, oh my..."  
  
Catching sight of Draco's blond hair in the distance, Tilly hid behind a bush and watched as his master took out the key and began the process of opening the door to the Inner Garden. Watching the door close behind him, the young elf quickly followed and "popped" himself inside, again hiding behind the bushes to avoid being seen.  
  
Draco studied the statue. The elf's account of the tunnel was pretty vague. He did not know how to find the entrance, nor if the information he got was reliable, but he had no choice but to try it.  
  
Feeling strained and exhausted, Draco reluctantly turned around, ready to give up, and started to walk toward the door. Tilly saw this and was extremely relieved, wishing to himself that Draco would give up, so that he too, might leave.  
  
Disappointed with himself, Draco turned around again to have a last glance at the hindrance he failed to triumph over. He seldom encountered an obstacle he was unable to overcome. At that distance, there was something peculiar about the statue, Lady Elmira's basket in particular. The basket... the roses... there seemed to be something quite strange about it.  
  
Draco walked back to the statue to get a closer inspection. A rose seemed to be missing and a gorge formed in where it should have been. Draco blew on that part, revealing a hole which looked similar to that of the entrance.  
  
Overcome by a sudden sense of triumph, Draco rushed to the door and took out the rose key. Pausing for awhile, he looked through the tangle of vines, which blocked the archway, to make sure that nobody was outside, and being assured, he returned to the statue to test if his theory was correct.  
  
After making the final push, the ground below Draco's feet shook. With his quick reflexes, he managed to jump sideway, avoiding the crack that opened in front of the statue.  
  
Without a second thought, he pulled out his wand from the sleeve of his robes and cautiously went down the steps, vaguely aware that someone, or something, was following him, though his gut feeling told him it had no malicious vibe whatsoever.  
  
After entering, the ground replaced itself and at the same time torches lining the tunnel walls close to him lit up. And as he vigilantly walked down the passageway, his wand up, ready to throw spells at anything foreboding, the torches he left behind snuffed out, while the ones in front of him lit up, increasing the perilous atmosphere.  
  
With his magic surrounding him, making his presence as discreet as possible, Tilly followed his master. His heart almost stopped when he reached the end of the passage and entered into what looked like a grotto. He couldn't help but let out a whimper.  
  
Draco went for a closer look at the only decoration of the cavern aside from the jewel-ornamented pillars and the high patterned ceiling. The large cat statue looked like an Eirenian Cat—named after the Eiran Mountain Range, the rare creature's only habitat. The only near-strange thing about it is the large scar near the cat's left eye. It was something which tickled something at the back of his mind. He knew something about that scar.  
  
He turned around after hearing something. It was the thing who was following him, he thought. He was about to look after it when something moved behind him. He turned again to see what it was.  
  
The statue was gone! What was left was the platform in which it stood but the cat itself was gone. Draco felt something other than what occupied him a second ago. He opened his senses and readied himself once again.  
  
It suddenly felt as if something brushed his cheek and ruffled his hair. A trickle of blood slowly oozed from the wound he noticed on his pale skin. Something was in the cavern with him, with them...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hermione opened the book and saw the picture of the Black Dragon once again. 'I forgot about this.' She shortly scanned the first page of the book. "It's written in a first-person point of view," she noticed.  
  
Malfoy Manor was founded by my father, Lord Galen Malfoy, strategically positioned to be surrounded by natural, not to mention magical barriers, that would prevent muggle, even wizard eyes from finding it. The south of this manor is bounded by the Eiran Mountain Range. The highest of these mountains is Mount Aurus, in which the dragons of this land have sought refuge when my father chose the area in which they inhabited. But though this forced resettlement seems tyrannical, it was nothing compared to what my brother did when my father died. Thaddeus considered it his duty to continue what my father had started and had even slain herds of these creatures just to make sure the perimeter was rid of them. This was never what my father wanted, but my brother thought otherwise. The Seraphinde, also known as the Black Dragons, as I said, have made the great mountain their new haven.  
  
I have gone to this mountain only once and in this rare visit, I have been blessed to have been able to have an encounter with two of the uncommon creatures residing in this place. That day, I took Anemhros, my winged stallion, for a ride and decided to let him take a short rest in a clearing. There, I heard the faint cry of what I assumed were of a young mountain cat's. Overcome by curiosity, I followed the sound into the forest and there, among the tall clusters of evergreen trees, found them: a young Eirenian Cat mother fighting for her life and her two cubs, their sad moan perceptible as they tried to lick her awake. The cat did all she could to keep her eyes open for she knew that her death would also mean her litter's.  
  
Out of pity and curiosity, I warily walked around to the other side to have a closer look. As I came closer, I saw large gashes that covered the feline's slim body and the dark red blood, evidently not only her own, that tainted the snow melting in its warmth. My feet were moving on its own; I didn't know what I was doing. She must've sensed me because in seconds, she had summoned her remaining energy and speedily stood up, covering her children, snarling at me menacingly, daring me to take a step closer. I slowly backed away, my hand instinctively inside my robe, ready for the easiest protection spell I could think of. But my attention was left not on the angered mother when a large shadow enveloped us and the surrounding trees and a strong vortex of wind almost sweeped us off the ground. I saw my Anemhros fly off the ground in fear and confusion, obviously trying to find me and was forced to give up when the wind blew him far from our location. It consumed all of the Eirenian Cat's energy to protect her little ones and once the large creature creating the disorder had settled down, all she could do was fall to the ground. I ran to it and all it did was raise its sad motherly eyes to me as if pleading me not to hurt her children.  
  
"I will not hurt them. Rest now, I will take care of them for you," I assured her. At last, she let her eyes close.  
  
I examined the babes. One of them, the boy, had a large gash on the left part of his face, missing his eyes by inches. I reached out to have a closer look when it snapped its jaws at me angrily. I managed to retrieve my hand before it bit it. The other, its sister, growled at it fiercely as if scolding it.  
  
The large creature we left unnoticed roared in protest. It opened its large mouth and let out a stream of a warm whirl of blue and green colors around them. I noticed the cub's wound healing.  
  
After the strange flame had gone, the Seraphinde bowed its head seemingly in silent apology. It had not known they were there, she realized. Then, it opened its large wings and flew away, apparently trying to be gentle.  
  
With time to spare, I named my two new charges. The fiery, temperamental masculine one I named Stribog, the scar left by the wound earlier evident, giving him a more menacing look. The commanding prudent feminine I named Neva...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/n: Ok, so I rushed, again, so don't be surprised if my writing sucked. If I would count the freakishly banal parts of this chapter I would say... 10? There's the book and the hidden passage and the light switching tunnel and... it could go on and on. *shrugs shoulder* I write 'em as I think 'em. There's also the part about the book. I know it should be written in Old English but I'm not that good at that kind of stuff so I wrote it in the modern version. I'm also sorry for the long update. I on vacation at my aunt's and it's hard to get the computer to myself. The only reason I finished this chapter was because I sneak at night. Anyway, if the story's getting too weird for you. Trust me it'll get stranger as the chapters come. Tell me if you're confused with anything or if you think there's something wrong or anything. Reviews are greatly appreciated.  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed: dracosgurl_chrissy: Thanks a lot. I hope I don't disappoint you in the chapters to come; I'm S.S.M.: Wow, 2 reviews! Thank you so much. You're the reason I rushed this chapter, really. Again, thanks. The Sarcastic Morbid One: I think the hooking up won't come until some chapters at the end. You know the usual jealousy, sudden realization and those kinds of things :). overXposed: I've got a lot more conundrums in the story. I just hope you don't get turned-off if it's too weird or anything 


	11. Encounter with Eirenian Cats

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter XI: Encounter with Eirenian Cats**

Draco raised his hand to wipe the blood and felt that is was cold as ice. His cheek was turning numb with frost. The way Eirenian Cats hunted was by freezing its prey with a substance found in its claws that freezes the body until it could not move anymore. This way, it could kill creatures bigger, but much slower that it.

Tilly saw a blur of white in the ledges near the ceiling, somewhat crouching in a hunting stance, though in a moment it was gone.

"Master Draco, above you!"

It was the elf. "What are you doing? Get out of here!" The words were hardly out of his mouth when something pounced on him, pinning him to the freezing floor. He was suddenly face-to-face with his assailant, its front paws on his chest. It was then he recognized who it was: Stribog, one of Elmira's pets. 'So this is the passage,' he thought to himself.

The elf whimpered with fright. Turning around, he ran until he realized he could teleport himself into the manor.

Without wasting any second, he grasped his wand tightly and pointed it on the creature's stomach.

"STUPEFY," he roared when it was about to strike its final blow. He knew that it would do little, if not, no good, for Eirenian Cats have developed resistance to such typical, low-caliber spells. But it was the first spell that came into mind and he knew that every second would mean his life or his death.

The force pushed the creature away from Draco. It was obviously off-guard for it landed on its back (being a cat it should've landed on its feet, right?), but quickly recovered and hurriedly stood up. Draco followed suit. In the blink of an eye, Stribog was gone again. He tried to follow where it went but all he could catch was its hazy white form.

Trying to summon all his senses, Draco raised his wand, clutching it tightly, and listened intently for the creature's next assault. He had already thought of using a fire spell for Eirenian Cats are of Ice Origins. Using the opposite element of its innate one may be the best way to stop it.

Tilly wearily rushed through the halls of the manor, not knowing where he was, or where he was going because in his panic, he forgot that he did not know the ways around the house, except for the kitchen, for he was a gardener, or at least the gardener's apprentice, and had always been outside. Breathless, he was again chanting his usual "oh my, oh my, oh my," looking for someone he could report to. "Master Draco in trouble. It's all Tilly's fault. Tilly shouldn't have told Master Draco. Oh my, oh my, oh my." It was then he thought to look in the rooms for a house-elf who might be cleaning. The first room he looked into was large and the moment he entered, he started feeling slightly dizzy. He entered anyway.

"Master Draco in trouble," he shouted in his squeaky voice, panting. "attack… tunnel… Big Cat… scar…" It was when he saw the vague forms and sceneries arranging and rearranging that he realized nobody was there. Noticing a statue just like the one in the cavern, fear overrode him and he hurriedly stumbled toward the door.

Once he was out, a white form strode quietly across the room, opened a secret passage and entered it.

Draco tried to follow where the cat went but fast as his eyes were, an Eirenian Cat surely was much faster than a snitch. All he could see was the usual white blur.

Since it was hit by the stunning spell, the only time Stribog came near Draco was when it scratched Draco's left arm, which was now bleeding hard and at the same time freezing.

He tried to think of a way to slow, if not stop, it. It was too fast. He had already tried the Impediment Curse but it was too slow to hit the cat. In the end, all he could think of was make himself bait, though he knew very well it could mean his demise if the cat could hit him with its final blow, which was the creatures slowest attack for it was the strongest. First, he must make himself seem an easy picking for the creature.

By now, he was ready with his spell, which was the strongest fire spell he could think of at the moment. He didn't really have all the time in the world to think of a stronger one. It could attack any moment and he needed all his senses and concentration.

Seeing a flash of white at his right, Draco knew the cat was again attacking. He turned to face it. "MAGNA INFLAMMARE," he bellowed.

A large scorching ball of fire shot out of his wand and headed straight for Stribog. Surprised, it tried to get out of its way but was still burned on the left side of its body. Instead of smoke, what arose from his body was steam. With a last ditch of effort, it again bounded for Draco. The first word of the incantation was hardly out of his mouth when the cat was again on top of him, again raising its paw to strike him and again, gripping his wand, Draco pointed it on its stomach. Knowing that he would be dead even before he could finish his fire-ball incantation, he quickly managed to recall another powerful (and one-word) fire spell.

Draco closed his eyes so that the light would not blind him. "_Ignitum_" he said. The spell hit the ceiling since something pounced on it. Recovering from the unexpected attack, it stood up and came face-to-face with its new enemy and was visibly surprised upon recognizing who it was.

Draco tried to stand up despite the pain he noticed was growing on his right leg. It had been injured from his second fall. He saw the two hissing and circling each other, each ready to pounce the other any moment.

Stribog was the first one to move but because of his burn, the newcomer easily got on top of him.

It was time for Draco to intervene. "Stribog, Neva, that's enough," he said in his commanding voice.

Cautiously, Neva let go of her brother, went over to Draco and sat beside him, as if protectively. Stribog also stood up and sat opposite them, almost half of his body fur black and though it was apparent his burns were bad he acted as if it didn't bother him at all. (Tch. What a proud animal! C", How cute!). After a couple of seconds, Neva went over to her brother and started licking his injuries. Stribog hissed tetchily at her. She completely ignored him.

"Tch. That won't do," Draco said, starting to walk (or limp) out of the cavern. "I'm going to call for a nursing elf. Don't you go pouncing on her when she comes."

Hermione had read half the book already. As she found out, Elmira was seventeen when she wrote the book but was still as troublesome as a young girl the age of twelve. As angry as her brother was when he found her, she still managed to convince him to let her take care of the cubs. She also found out that before she left the manor she tried to free the then adolescent Eirenian Cats, who were already with her for 3 years. It was Stribog who first refused, implying that he'd guard their escape. Neva, having never been away from his brother, decided to stay too. It was Elmira who cast a spell to turn them to stone, watchful stones, knowing everything that happened around their territories, and preserving their youth. Neva, being more sensible—Stribog would have pounced on anyone who entered, on to her or not—guarded the Room of Mysteries since a secret passage was there that would easily lead to her escape, while Stribog secured her secret exit. Hermione wondered if they were still there. Being stone, they probably didn't have any sense of time, and of course, didn't know how long they had been there.

She was pondering over these things when she heard someone having a fit of coughs in the hall. It sounded like Draco, though it couldn't be him. He didn't have even the slightest sign of sickness a while ago. She went near the door, debating with herself whether she should open it or not. On one side, it could be somebody else and she would be in trouble being found. On the other, it could be Draco and she would still be in trouble, being foolish enough to open the door when she was specifically told not to. She pressed an ear next to the door and listened carefully.

"Mudblood," he heard a raspy voice say, barely audible from her position but certainly enough for her to recognize who it was. She quickly opened the door to be greeted by another fit of coughs. Draco was holding the doorjamb to keep his balance. His robes were covered with blood and there were bruises and gashes all over his body. His cheek and arm were turning blue with frost. She watched him with horror until his legs finally gave way and Hermione caught him falling from his weight.

"Damn Eirenian Cat," he whispered under his breath,.

"Oh my god, Draco," she whispered, her eyes instantly filling with tears. "What did you do, you git? You shouldn't have done this to me. I don't know what to do."

"I'm alright, Hermione," Draco said weakly. "I just need a bit of rest."

"You're not alright," she retorted, pushing the door shut, swinging Draco's arm over her shoulders and helping Draco walk over to his bed. One of his legs was hurt and he was again limping. Her tears were flowing freely now, because of panic, guilt and, she admitted to herself, because of worry.

"It's because of me again, isn't it?" she finally asked when he was already tucked in his bed.

"I'm tired, Granger," he said, evidently avoiding her question.

"Draco… please. I don't know what to do without you," she whispered. "It's not only about how I could escape…" she continued, not letting him say a word. "I don't know what to do without you, you hear?" she said, sobbing in his chest. "So please…"

"What do you take me for Granger, a weakling?" Draco said, trying to force a smirk on his face before another cough escaped his throat. "Do you think a small bruise could hurt me?"

He was obviously trying to cheer Hermione up but ended up with the opposite. Though she tried to stop herself, her sobs became louder.

"Don't cry anymore."

When Hermione had calmed down, Draco said: "I'm going to sleep a bit, alright? Just stay in the room. I don't want to go look for you today. Don't worry. I'm going to the house-elves when I wake up." With that, he slowly drifted off the sleep, leaving Hermione to debate with herself once again whether she was to go out and look for help or heed his advice and stay.

a/n: I'm so sorry it took so long. Again, it's because of schoolwork. But because I'm S.S.M. kept asking me to continue, it became hard to resist writing so I rushed this chapter so tell me if there's a misspelled word or anything. Anyway, I'm not sure if I did the action part right (Draco fighting Stribog). I know I sucked at it. It was kind of hard to write that part. Tell me if you don't like this chapter so I can rewrite it.

I really do hope I get to finish this story before I get really, really downhearted with the movies. Did you know that Draco acted like a baby in the Prisoner of Azkaban? That's not really very encouraging for writers. I liked the book better then the movie, anyway. That's just an opinion, ok, so anybody there who doesn't agree with me just ignore what I just said. What I need are reviews for my fic. Anyway, do you guys like new characters? That's a stupid question. I won't change the plot even though you tell me you don't anyway. Just don't lose interest just yet. Give it a try. This question is more important: Do you want me to write about Stribog and Neva's conversation? Is that cute or weird?

Acknowledgements: overXposed: I'm fine with two, thank you very much. I hope you find the culprit who cut your arm off; dragonwing: Thanks, that's really flattering. I hope you like the chapters to come; fanficfan#1: Thanks. I hope I keep writing too; yo man: I don't think you're weird. You reviewed, so you're not. Is this flattery getting me anywhere?; dracosgurlchrissy: Interesting is cool. Thanks for staying tuned to this fic. I really appreciate it; nO1: I'm sorry you think that way. Others like the dragon and history stuff so I won't bother changing the plot until others, lots more others, ask me to. Anyway, I don't know why I'm telling you this. I don't think there's a chance of you reading this chapter; babmidnight: I'm glad you said that. I kind of wondered if you thought it would be unrealistic. But then, some time ago, I read something from Readers' Digest (I don't know what edition. It's at my aunt's) about a lion cub being raised by humans and it got along quite well with them. It even had a dog as his best friend. How cool is that? Anyway, that took away my doubts; me love draco: Sorry it took long to update. When I got back from my aunt's there was a problem with the computer and then I had problem logging on. I'll try to update sooner next time; I'm S.S.M: Hmmm… before 2, now 4. Thanks for the reviews, though I'm kind of confused with the last ones. I believe James was a seeker and I'm still trying to think of a way to hook up Draco and Hermione. In this story, they're both quite stubborn and proud so it's kind of hard.


	12. My Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter XII: My Love…**

Eyes darting cautiously from side to side, wand arm up and ready for defense, a tall willowy figure stealthily shifted from one shadow to another down the long hallway. Her blood pounding angrily in her ears in tune with the fierce beating of her heart. Five minutes ago she managed to convince herself she needed to get help… but the war inside her head didn't end there.

She tried to keep her head on what was to be done, not what may happen. Yup, that's working, she thought as innumerable consequences of what she was doing kept bounding up in her head. Well, there's the fact that even though she did get help Draco would inevitably burn up with curses for her defiance of orders and worse make her feel guilty, which he kind of did with amazing ease. That wouldn't be right. She was doing this for him! What right had he to blame her? She was, well, worried, she admitted to herself… ok a bit more than worried. Frustrated with herself and the way the war in her head was going, she rounded yet another corner.

Still unable to concentrate on the work at hand, she thought how Draco was the least of her worries. Of course, there was also Lucius and what he might do to her. And, she admitted, the fact that Draco would probably try to protect her and risk his life for her if she was found. Hermione sighed. It occurred to her how pessimistic she had become. It was funny how the thought of the proud muggle-born-hater coming to her aid would have seemed as ludicrous as Ron managing a comprehensible sentence at dinner hardly a week ago. She sighed in exasperation as she realized that her line of thought had managed to circle itself back to Draco.

Draco… the though of him brought a shudder down her spine, made her remember why the heck she was facing these consequences. She just couldn't turn her back on the one who stretched out his hand to help her when she needed it most. Or at least that's what she brainwashed herself into thinking, the real reason a shadow in her mind. A shadow she tried to ignore. A shadow threatening to knock her defenseless when it finally revealed itself. She, of course, tried to heal him, even trying some of the most complex healing charms she knew, as he no doubt had done himself before coming to her. She let out another pitiful sigh… Draco…

'For the last time, keep your head in the game,' she scolded herself, 'the very dangerous game.' Hermione kept walking until her own fear finally caught up with hear. Obligingly, she pressed her back on the wall, closed her eyes and summoned her courage and energy with the each deep breath she took. In with the good energy… out with the bad. In… Out. Repeating the process until the sound of quiet footsteps snapped her back to reality. Cursing, she decided to leave the place she had evidently stayed too long in.

She walked fast and after several turns noticed a being was following her. Deciding she's wasting time, with Draco's life on the line, she stopped and waited to face her pursuer.

* * *

Draco woke up with a start. Though his body was burning and his bruises were freezing, he sat up hurriedly, his senses all on alert. 

"Mudblood." The silent whisper escaped his lips. "Mudblood!" Louder. Fear for her made him forget his corporal aches. Until standing up hastily made him remember it. Damn!

He decided to take a few seconds to collect himself. Rage overcame the cold calm from time to time but beneath it all his dread threatened to surface. Dread powered by something he couldn't quite place. Why was he worried anyway? It would be entirely her fault if she got caught. Disobedient mudblood! He should've been happy at the thought of damning her, leaving her to her fate. A burden off his shoulders. But why was it that what he was feeling was entirely different?

He tested his legs, placing a hand on the wall for support, and found that his condition had gotten worse. He could hardly feel his leg and saw the skin surrounding his cuts blue from cold. The bruises covering his body were no better. None of the spells he worked made a difference.

He hadn't managed to go to the elves for fear of not making it. The cat wouldn't die just yet, he thought then. It was evident his own injuries were greater. But now it seemed he had no choice but to try to reach them. He gathered himself up and started the excruciating task of finding them, and her.

* * *

Tilly sensed somebody near and decided to walk faster. When the person started moving he walked even more. Finally, he thought as the person stopped. Taking the turn on the corner, he realized he had come face to face with a wand tip. His relief instantly turned to fear and the thought of running drifted over his already panicking mind. 

Yes run, he decided. But deciding was different from doing. A weak whimper escaped his throat as he realized his legs had turned to Jell-o. Pleading was easier to do than running anyway. He stared into a pair fierce chocolate brown eyes. Eyes which turned to surprise then confusion as he started babbling.

"No! Please help Tilly. Please help master!" he cried as he fell to his knees clutching Hermione's robes.

"Wait just a minute. What are you talking about?"

Managing a bit of confidence, Tilly stared into the eyes he had feared a few moments ago which were now full of concern. "Master Draco…" His sentence fell.

The color drained from Hermione's face. "No, you don't mean…" Tears threatened to pour from her clouded eyes.

" 'Twas Tilly's fault," he said, his voice racking with sobs. "Tilly couldn't help Master. Tilly left Master Draco on his back."

"NO! That's not true." Hermione's legs failed to support her. She fell to the floor weeping. Gathering herself, she decided to see for herself what had happened to Draco. Reaching out, she shook the elf who called himself Tilly. "Please," she said her voice breaking, "show me where he is."

The small elf's face hardened with determination. "Tilly will show you, lady. Master Draco in cave under statue's feet."

"Cave?" Despite the circumstances, Hermione couldn't hide the incredulity she felt from what she had just heard. "What the heck is Draco doing in a cave… under a statue's feet?"

"Master Draco was looking for a way, lady, to get out of Malfoy Manor. Tilly told him of way but big cat attack him. Tilly left to look for help when Tilly saw Master on his back."

The tragic face Hermione had turned to a feeling of mixed relief and stupidity. He was talking about before Draco returned to her! He might still be alive.

Tilly was pulling at her, babbling about going to the cave and helping Master Draco.

"No. Tilly, isn't it? Draco's in his room. We have to go there and get help for him."

Tilly's expression clouded with distrust. "But Master Draco in cave! Tilly must help him"

"No. Draco's in his room," Hermione insisted. "We have to go to him. Can you teleport us there?"

"Tilly not sure," he answered hesitantly. "Tilly must see place to poof there. Tilly never go to Master's room. Tilly cannot see place."

"Could you go get help then? Other house-elves. In the kitchen. There must be some of them there. Could you go find some medi-elves?"

"Tilly could see kitchen. Tilly could remember. Tilly goes there. Tilly could call Medes. Medes has strongest healing spells. Medes—"

"Ok then," Hermione cut him off before he could recite a novel. "Go get help. Please. Quickly."

After a very low bow, Tilly "poofed" himself to get the elder elf.

Hermione, giving no heed to caution, ran as fast as she could to go to Draco. After the last corner, she came face-to-face with him, a hand clutching the wall for support, his right leg near to useless.

He expected anger, even rage, not this. Relief he didn't think possible flooded Draco's emotions. With pride empowering him, he managed to stand upright without support, managed to forget the aches and pains his body was screaming, did not manage to keep himself from reaching out and dragging Hermione by the waist close to him and holding her against him.

Hermione's initial feeling of surprise turned to contentment. She was in his arms. Safe. How foolish it was to feel such comfort with him when it was supposed to be her turn in helping him out. But then, she couldn't think of anything else. The misconception of him… her own stupidity. The thought had almost made her go over the edge. And, she admitted to herself this time, it wasn't because he was her savior.

Pleasant warmth was beneath all that coldness. Oh my God. His condition had gotten worse. She measured the distance from where they were to Draco's doorway to across the hall. Shouldn't be too hard to help him walk all the way there. After all, he had the energy to walk all the way here by himself. She tried to pull herself away from him and found she'd underestimated his remaining power. "Let's get you to bed, Draco," she whispered.

"In a while, Hermione," he whispered back. The feeling of his cold breath on her ear made her shudder.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while.

"You damn should be," he replied quietly, gently rather than harshly. Finally, he released her, leaving Hermione with a quiet feeling of loss. When Draco started the trip to the room, she offered him her help by supporting his arm. He accepted it grudgingly, for no other reason than fear of staying too long in the hall and somebody finding them.

Hermione tucked Draco carefully into bed, the temporarily forgotten cough returning with a vengeance. When she'd made sure he was as comfortable as possible, she sat and contented herself with contemplation with her emotions, while Draco, still racking with fitful cough from time to time, stared at the ceiling.

What was she feeling? Of course, the inevitable million-dollar question. Was she falling for him? Damn, what a stupid thought. But she couldn't keep the memory of the scene in the hall from entering her mind, and the waves of emotion she felt while in his arms. More overwhelming than anything she'd ever felt for anyone. Hermione looked at Draco's pale face covered with frost and could almost see the smirk he would wear if he somehow found out what she was thinking. She looked away, just couldn't bear seeing him like that. "I hope Tilly would come through," she whispered to herself and was surprised when Draco answered.

"I'm sure he would. He found you, hadn't he?"

"You really should be sleeping, Draco."

"Do you do it on purpose?"

"What?"

"Do you act like my woman on purpose or have you finally been drawn by my charms?"

"_Your_ woman?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Draco gave her a smirk, bordering on a real smile. "Maybe you haven't noticed, _love, _but you're starting to nag."

Hermione couldn't stop the color from rising to her face. 'Could he have read my thought? Impossible.' Instead she said defiantly, "you're swimming in shallow water, Draco."

"Cool it, love. You're turning an amazing color of red," he said, returning his gaze to the ceiling, else the straight face he was trying to preserve would crack.

"I'll cool it. If you stop calling me 'love'. " Hermione snapped, thinking that her heart might break her ribs if he continued it. How annoying he was!

Draco sneaked her another look and to his satisfaction, she'd turned a shade redder. "Can't you spare me some compassion? Don't you see you're distracting me from my ailment?"

Her retort went forgotten as a knock sounded on the door. "Master Draco, Medes is here to see you." Tilly. Hermione stood up to go to the door, opened it a crack to take a peek and seeing that it was truly them let them in.

"You should have heeded my warning, Master."

"It's alright, Medes. Draco said carelessly, without a trace of pain. He probably was a very good actor, Hermione thought, "Oh, I almost forgot, could you send someone to go to the cave and look at Stribog. He's hurt quite badly."

"I'll do it myself later."

"How about Draco, um, Medes?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Can you do anything about him?"

The old elf looked at her. "You do know that you're the reason he's hurt, don't you?"

"It's my fault, Medes," Draco interrupted coolly. "She didn't know anything about what I was doing."

"I know," Hermione replied quietly, "and I'm sorry. Please, he needs help immediately."

"I'll do what I can," she said, turning to Draco and evaluated his condition. "Snow Cat, huh? He probably won't die once I'm through with him, though his hardheadedness would probably do it for me one of these days."

Draco smiled at her. "I try, Medes."

"And almost succeeded this time, too," she shot back. "Now sit back and let me look at you."

Hermione sat quietly and studied the healing process. Finally, when it was over, Medes was taking her leave to look at Stribog. "You have to rest for a week," she advised.

"A day would probably be fine," Draco said with a shrug.

Knowing arguing with him was useless, the old elf turned to Hermione. "Try to keep him in bed for as long as you can. I'll leave Tilly to run errands for you." And with that she left.

"It's alright Tilly," he said. "We'll call you when we need you." The garden elf started to protest but Draco cut him off, giving him one of a pair of bells which he took from a drawer. "You know how it works. You'll know if we need you."

When at last he too left, Draco turned to Hermione. "Don't worry, love. I'll try not to give you any trouble." Oh, this is great, he thought as he watched her face return to its oh-so-dark shade of red. He was feeling better already. He gave her the most charming smile he could muster. "Now come here and give me a kiss to take away this damn headache."

Hermione bristled. "I can see through that mask of yours, Draco. You're trying to make me uncomfortable."

"Oh? And what makes you think that?" he said sitting smugly on the bed.

Annoyed, Hermione defiantly pushed him on the bed and straddled him, forgetting her quite unbecoming attire (um, Draco's shirt!). Placing her face as close to his as she could summon the courage to, she said with a voice deceptively sweet and accompanied with and equally deceptive smile: "You really should go to sleep, _love_. You wouldn't want me to cry me eyes out weeping for you, would you?"

Draco smiled coolly at her and, taking hold of her arms shifted so that they exchanged positions, Hermione tucked precariously beneath him. Lowering his head, a good span closer to her face than hers had been a while before, he smiled arrogantly at her and skimmed his face to her ear, a centimeter from her skin. Hermione trembled at the already warming breath caressing her cheek.

"It would break my heart, my love." Hermione heard the smile in his voice though she was too rigid to look at him. Her heartbeat was soaring. She was sure he could hear it. Damn him! Damn him to hell for making her feel this way! To him it was a game. He didn't know what it was doing to her. No matter. She'd already determined to keep her feelings buried within herself. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing what she felt, what she'd finally acknowledged, what she'd resolved of taking to her grave. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of mocking her, and hurting her, and breaking her.

He smelled her. Her hair, the innate scent of her skin. It intoxicated him. He couldn't have stayed close to her another second and keep his senses intact. He lifted his head and stared into those deep brown eyes of hers. Pain? His amusement instantly changed to confusion. Was he the one causing her pain? He tried to think of what he was to do next. "I'll go to sleep after I take a bath… my love."

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking her… he already had.

* * *

a/n: Comments, suggestions, anything—greatly appreciated. Whatever. Oh, except things I cannot do anything about like the pairing: Draco/Hermione. Can't do anything about it. And don't bother commenting about discrepancies with the Harry Potter books. This is a fanfiction after all. Thanks. 

Acknowledgements: Makotojs, MidnightandMoonlight, dracosgurlchrissy, fluffys girl, and especially, I'm S.S.M. Thanks for the reviews.


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